Chapter 4: The trampoline was on sale for fifty percent off. Needless to say he jumped on the offer.
"Seriously, a tracking device?" Black Ice dubiously asks. "I know I'm not as nefarious as some villains, but at least give me some credit," he says with a tinge of irritation.
He crushes the tiny chip with his bare hands despite Imayoshi offering to deactivate the little bug; the sound of destroying Akashi's itty-bitty gadgets is music to his ears.
"Note to self," Kagami reminds himself with a drip of sarcasm, "Do not bring tracking devices."
"That's a good boy," he coos and pets his prisoner's head with an inch of fondness until the disgruntled hero aims for his defenseless crotch with his powerful legs. For once, his thighs are being put to good use instead of mediocre photo shoots, and utilizing them to render a villain into a sniveling mess weeping over his damaged penis sounds pleasantly perfect.
Of course, his kidnapper is a spoilsport and swiftly dodges from his deadly boots, which is incredibly unfair because he totally has the upper hand in this situation.
Kagami's kidnapper, he learns not too long ago, is the one and only Black Ice, an ex-member of the Generation of Miracles. He intercepted this tidbit of information from Furihata, but after five consecutive meetings and one awkward dinner discussion with his team members, he finally wrangled out most of the whole story from the group.
He could have researched the answer himself. After all, not many have the ability to manipulate water and proclaim themselves as villains, but trust is a main player in his relationship with the other Generation of Miracles. Without that essential foundation, teamwork is not possible. Besides, he's dealing with a man who used to be their comrade, their friend.
This topic is too sensitive for him to touch upon, and the wall surrounding this matter is too high for him to climb over. The team claims that they were not close in the past. They didn't know each other's identities until Black Ice went rogue, but they must have been close enough, Kagami supposes, for them to fluidly work together as one of the world's strongest superhero teams.
The members did not have to hire a detective to deduce that Black Ice has returned, and worst of all, he is back to enact revenge. His recent activity has been alarming. He has been stealing, and vandalizing equipment and private property belonging to the Superhero Branch's research facilities, and even though his crimes do not attract as much attention as other evildoers, the team cannot keep a lid on this problem forever. With an overview of these cases and the recent incident of Kagami's abduction, the team unanimously agrees that Black Ice harbors a nasty grudge, one that would inevitably spell trouble.
Kagami hates it when they're right.
His wrists are now chained to a pole in the middle of the room, and he is no longer blindfolded by a dirty rag or tied up to a chair. This is a slight improvement compared the conditions of the last kidnapping, but he is still stuck with this insufferable man. He bares his fangs and waits for the opportunity to escape. As he brews a slew of inappropriate curses in his head, he tugs the chains to test their durability, silently hoping for a weak link to appear, but to his avail, the bonds seem impenetrable. The chains might come off if he jumps, but there is no way in Hell is he going to embarrass himself again.
Ceilings are such a drag.
"You are such a cheater," Kagami accuses., "Only a coward would knock me out with sleeping pills."
He never asked to be captured. There's no neon sign on his forehead directing every villain within a mile radius to kidnap his ass.
"I'm sorry," Black Ice says quite unapologetically., "It's not every day I find you unconscious and knocked out by a brick."
Kagami glares back at the man looming over him, but there is not eye contact between the two. Black Ice's eyes are hidden by tinted goggles, so his blood red eyes assess the rest of the man's body instead. It's lean and sinewy, the type of body women would swoon over if he shed off that ridiculous costume, but it's also the type of body Kagami could probably land in the hospital if they happened to wrestle to the death.
Honestly, Kagami was wondering what the fuss is all about when Kise sung sonnets about this man's agility and speed. The blond definitely over-exaggerated about Black Ice's handsome features. He's okay for Kagami's standards, but Aomine is still more attractive by leaps and bounds.
Kagami then peevishly responds with, "How about you don't kidnap me, and let me go on with my life?"
"No can do."
"And why not?!" Kagami fumes. "I think one kidnapping is enough to brag about to your imaginary friends."
Moreover, he could have chosen somebody more interesting… like Midorima. Or Akashi… Or Midorima.
He does not doubt Akashi's remarkable trait to instill fear and respect into the hearts of many, but Midorima should blast this bastard off into space. They are not the best of buddies, but knowing the eccentric green-haired man, he would agree.
"That's true," says Black Ice, "But then I thought of a better idea."
Kagami looks unamused. "Mind sharing?"
"Well, I was thinking of making this into a trend or something. After all, how many villains can you name who could continuously kidnap the same hero?"
Of all the archenemies Kagami could have in this world, he ends up with the loser who wears tinted goggles inside a building and is more concerned about making whatever this is into a trend than his evil agenda. Yup, this is the life.
He heaves a huge sigh. There is no clock in sight, so he can't determine how long he's been here. He might as well piss this guy off until Takao or someone else from the team tracks him down.
He starts off with a yawn and says, "Your costume looks stupid. How can you shamelessly wear a wet suit like that?"
Kagami cannot see past the goggles, but he surmises that the villain would be glaring daggers at this point. Instead, he gains some satisfaction when he hears Black Ice make an affronted noise.
"Are you fucking blind?"
The darker skinned man slides his gloved hand across his chest and says with grandiose words, "This here is state-of-the-art technology, you idiot! Not only does it have the same advantages of a regular wet suit, it's abrasion resistant, fireproof, and a hundred more stuff-"
"And lame," Kagami coughs.
"-than your ugly-ass suit, and I'll have you know that this sleek, simple design is created only by the best of the best. Also-"
He stops in the middle of his tirade once he notices Kagami mocking him by lip-syncing his every word, which is incredibly, in his personal dictionary, rude.
He skims over Kagami's battle gear and says in a clipped tone, "At least my suit is more fashionable than that nightmare you're wearing."
He turns away and dismisses boorishly, "I can't believe you would save the world wearing that."
Kagami sputters at the insensitive remark and exclaims hotly, "It's meaningful!"
"Meaningful," the blue-haired man echoes. "How exactly is a huge red arrow splayed across your chest," he pokes at the flashy mark with a hard jab, "meaningful?!"
Kagami turns around in a huff because uncultivated men like Black Ice do not have the right to feast their eyes on this artistic masterpiece.
"It's symbolic!" he growls.
"Symbolic," the other repeats incredulously. "Your designer thought it was a good idea to paint a huge red target on you because…" he pauses and waves his hand, "… of symbolism."
As much as he would love to create a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation about the intrinsic values of his suit and its tear-jerking backstory behind its beautiful design, Kagami would rather go home, do the laundry, and change into comfortable wear. The redhead swears he is going to have a massive migraine by the end of the day if he continues to clash with this man, which is something he would like to avoid at all costs because if he can remember correctly, he is currently out of aspirin, and he doesn't have the motivation to buy aspirin after these shenanigans pass over.
He doesn't deserve to be kidnapped. He's tired, and he should be.
Earlier, he assisted the police and apprehended a low-grade hooligan by himself, which explains why he is wearing his super suit in the first place. Sure, there's also that drugged drink of his, and sure, he's still feeling a tad groggy, but that's not important at the moment. No, what is important is that he just missed watching one of the most anticipated basketball games of the season, and not to mention, his favorite team played in said game.
By now, he could have been taking a quick swig of ice cold beer at home, but nope, he is chained to a pole against his will, and is stuck under the care of this douche.
"Why me?" he moans, "Why couldn't you pick on somebody else? There are many other guys more competent than me."
He's not a self-deprecating piece of shit, but he understands the limits of his powers. Compared to the powerhouses of the team, he doesn't prove to be much of a challenge for the team's numerous adversaries, but he doesn't care. His lack of firepower doesn't stop him from plunging into havoc and pandemonium to protect the populace. With his jumps, he can achieve the impossible.
It's what Alex and Tatsuya taught him after all.
As a response to his words, the blue-haired villain flicks his nose.
"Don't sell yourself too short, Kagami," he croons. "You're a good enough challenge."
Kagami visibly stiffens at the sound of his name. He appears petrified, but his eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. His reaction is one of utter horror because the enemy now knows about his double life.
"How do you know my name?" he lowly asks while trying to will the trepidation in his heart to calm down, but it's no use. He can't help but panic as his mind races at full speed. It's on overdrive.
This is bad.
This is bad.
This is bad.
Kagami Taiga has to cease to exist. He has to disappear and move far away to a distant location.
Like Russia.
He shudders and blanches at the thought.
No offense to the country, but he doesn't have the brains to learn a foreign language nor the ability to instantly adapt to its frigid winters. He doesn't want to relocate and abandon his dreams. He likes Japan just fine. Besides, passports are a pain in the ass, and image changes are even worse. He may have to do the extreme like switching his hair color to neon orange and trimming his eyebrows.
Everything is a disaster. He really doesn't want to leave without a proper goodbye, now when he finally became a full-fledged hero. All of his training would be for naught.
Black Ice seems to be grossly inexperienced in dealing with people, because he ends up patting Kagami's shoulder, condescendingly he would like to add, and comments, "Geez, relax. You look like it's the end of the world."
On second thought, maybe he's deliberately acting like a jerk because one common rule in human decency is to never, ever tell a panicking person to relax. And he just broke it.
Kagami, slightly hysterical, accuses back, "It is the end of the world, thanks to you!"
The other raises his hands in defense, surprised by the loud outburst.
"You don't have to be so melodramatic," he says, but these poor choice of words added oil to the fire.
"Shut up, you asshole!" Kagami yells. "I might as well be killed on the spot!"
"But I don't want to kill you."
"You sick bastard," the redhead spits vehemently, "Killing me won't satisfy you, huh? What more do you want from me? Psychological torture until you mentally break me?"
This misunderstanding has to stop before it could reach ridiculous heights, and Black Ice has his own questions to ask anyway. Before the hero could continue his onslaught of verbal attacks, the other man grabs a handy water bottle he left aside for emergencies and splashes its contents into Kagami's face.
Kagami splutters some on his face, but he kind of deserves that.
At least he gained Kagami's undivided attention.
"Okay, listen up," he says and wipes his face with his sleeve. "I promise I won't harm any of your friends or reveal your identity-"
"No."
"I didn't even say anything yet!"
"My answer is still no. There's a catch, I bet, and I refuse to betray my friends or reveal any secrets that could possibly endanger them."
Besides, villains are not trustworthy people in general.
"You just have to answer one question."
"What question?" Kagami asks suspiciously.
The man simply stares at the cuticles in his nails as if they were more interesting than the red-haired man chained to the pole.
"Are you sure you're ready to hear it? It may change your life forever."
Kagami narrows his eyes; never had he heard anything so ominous in his life.
"I'm not joking," Black Ice warns.
He is not smiling.
"You might never see the world the same way again."
"Try me," Kagami dares.
His red emblazoned eyes show that he is prepared for the worst, but even he cannot prepare his ears for what is going to come out of the villain's mouth. The air is crackling with tension, and Kagami holds his breath. His anticipation keeps him from kicking Black Ice in the shin as he steps closer.
The blue-haired man takes a deep breath and finally opens his mouth.
He asks, "Do your powers work when you're on a trampoline?"
Befittingly, there is a pregnant pause.
Then Kagami echoes his jumbled thoughts.
"What?"
Like a teacher who elucidates a word problem to a student, Black Ice clarifies, "Do you jump higher when you're on a trampoline or does it not matter at all?"
His question is not something straight from a Calculus textbook, but it might as well be because Kagami is confused as heck.
"Is that a serious question?" he whispers, uncertain if he is in a recording of a prank right now. "Are you serious?"
Black Ice crosses his arms. "Yes, Kagami, I am very serious," he deadpans.
"Why do you even care?!"
"Because I literally just thought of that in the shower a few days ago, and it has been bothering me for days," Black Ice explains. "So answer the damn question!"
"What kind of reasoning is that?!"
"Haven't you always wondered the limits of your powers?"
"No."
Black Ice groans, "Really? Haven't you ever wondered if you could activate your powers while playing hopscotch?"
"No."
"You know what? Forget that. Just answer if your powers work on a trampoline."
Frustrated, Kagami retorts with, "I don't even know the answer to that!"
Expecting that that would be the case, Black Ice smirks at his response, and it sends chills to Kagami's spine.
"Good," he says with mirth in his voice. "Then you can test that out with the trampoline I just bought."
"No."
"Yes."
"You did not just buy a fucking trampoline for this."
"But I did," he counters. "For science."
One hour later Kagami finds himself with a shock blanket around his shoulders and a bandage the size of Jupiter on his forehead. Kuroko, he hears, is preoccupied with another mission. The others are on the way, but Midorima is the first one to arrive. He walks toward him in his clunky, chrome suit. His legs pound the floor with each footstep, blasting some of the rubble away from his presence. Fluorescent green light outlines the contours of his suit, giving him an unearthly glow. He crosses past the police and chunks of the wall he exploded earlier, to get to Kagami's side.
His face visor lifts up just a bit.
"I am glad to see that you are well," he stiffly says.
Kagami looks as if he has seen through hell. He wears a cut lip and blood stains on his suit.
"Me too," he feebly replies.
Midorima tries his best to not let the concern seep through his voice, but his actions says otherwise as he uses a feature on his suit to scan his teammate's vitals.
"Did he hurt you? What did he do?" he gently presses.
There is a minor concussion, he finds, but nothing too serious.
He also hears Kagami mumble something, but he didn't quite catch it. He mentally berates himself. He should be focusing on the injured.
"Sorry," he apologizes, "Can you please repeat that?"
"... Ihitmyheadontheceiling."
For a moment, Midorima muses if there is wax stuck in his ear because whatever spilled from Kagami's mouth is incoherent.
"I'm sorry," he apologizes for the second time, "But can you please repeat that... a bit slower?"
Kagami lowers his head in defeat and meekly shuffles the blanket close to his face.
"I hit my head on the ceiling," he mumbles quietly.
"..."
"..."
Midorima simply blinks. Nope, it's still incoherent.
"You hit your head," Midorima repeats slowly as if it would eventually make sense, "On the ceiling
Kagami winced as if the words scorched him.
"Yes..."
"And how did that happen?"
"..."
"..."
"Because I jumped on a trampoline..."
"..."
"..."
If Takao was here, he would have died of laughter. If Kise was here, he would have ruptured a spleen. However, this is Midorima, who goes with the most logical course of action.
He asks questions.
"Now, pray tell me," Midorima says, "Why were you on a trampoline in the first place?"
Kagami will never be able to go out into daylight ever again. Kuroko will never let him live this down. He will be mocked for eternity, and this will probably become the recurring joke of the century.
"Science," he answers miserably, "Because of science."
A/N: Hello I'm back! School is a hassle, but I wanted to finish this as soon as possible. Even if my computer broke (which it did), I refuse to give up! Thank you for your support! Also I would like to thank my amazing Beta, InkTheRed, for editing this chapter.