Hey guys, sorry for not updating last weekend. I was busy and some things came up...so, enough with the excuses. Here's what you all have been waiting for! The introduction of Akashi with Kuroko. Also, someone mentioned the lack of a pairing for this story. I didn't put one up because I wasn't sure on doing one or not but if you guys would like one then I'm sure I could add it in the plot line. Just tell me through your reviews. I might do a poll if enough people want a pairing(s). Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 4: Those above You
Something rushed through the forest, dodging around the trees as it ducked and avoided low branches and jumped over roots protruding from the ground. It made no sound. Its paws beat on the earth, kicking up dirt and mud from its powerful bounds that showed its monstrous strength. It all but flew through the leaves, the force of the wind from its speed rustling the leaves only when it was already far away. Its eyes glowed like that of a cat's in the hooded mist underneath the canopy of trees. Even if its eyes looked to be producing their own light, the animal was anything but a feline.
The muzzle was too long, and the whiskers framing its nose were too few and short compared to a cat's. The animal could see in the dark, perhaps even better than the felines could ever hope to accomplish, but unlike a cat's slanted eyes and slit pupils this one's eyes were round and had huge pupils adorning the middle of the iris, designed to absorb any and all light and could almost see in the darkest of places. The iris's color was a bit unusual for a cat, even for the animal itself. A jade green filled the pupil's perimeter and looked to be as if a gem itself resided within the eyes of the animal. As it moved one could barely catch the glimpse of a trail of light leaving its eyes, as if a stream of green was flowing off the irises themselves.
The animal pushed its body to the side, its muscles bunching up beneath its fur before springing it around the tree blocking its path. It avoided the tree easily and continued down its path without missing a beat. The muscles and structure of its bones were somewhat similar to a feline's, however if one were placed next to the other anyone could tell that the unusual animal had legs much longer and slimmer than a cat's. The muscles weren't as stocky as a sturdy cat that used their body structures for stealth and sprinting for short distances. The animal's lean muscles rippled under its fur hinting that it was a long distanced runner and could easily outrun anything in the world. A cat's stamina was nothing compared to the animal that had been traveling for almost three days straight now.
Its long haunches pushed it forward and the sharp claws protruding from its large paws dug into the earth and steadied the animal as it carried on without one slip of balance in the obstacle covered ground. Contrasting from a cat, this one's claws did not retract and always obtruded from its paws. A tongue ran out of the animal's mouth, trying to cool its overheating body in the humid air. It panted as it ran before slipping its pink tongue back into its mouth, large sharp canines closing and hiding it from view. Pointed ears tipped the head of the animal, moving in every which direction and listening for any sounds of danger or another presence. Down the spine of its back, a bushy tail flew in the wind as it helped the animal with its balance.
The animal could tell it was close now. Showing signs of intelligence, the animal followed a specific path along the hidden trail amongst the forest. Each step became faster when it saw light escaping from the trees and it rushed almost eagerly to the edge of the tree line. A couple bounds more and the animal burst from the forest. Sunlight illuminated the thick fur of the four legged animal as it dashed to the ledge of the cliff that overlooked a valley down below. It came to a halt at the edge, its sides heaving as its lungs contracted to bring in oxygen before releasing a long and loud howl above the quiet forest.
The wolf's head was thrown back as it signaled its return, the green eyes hidden behind its eyelids. The wind ruffling the hazel colored fur of the animal as it stood on the cliff, the movement of the wind blowing the fur to show the unique color of emerald green on the underbelly of the wolf. The strange color was unusual to see on a wolf but if anyone knew their species they would know that this was not a regular wolf but an animal that was only ever told in fairytales. The werewolf opened its eyes after finishing its call and brought its head down to stare at the mansion below. It was finally home.
Midorima was exhausted beyond belief and he was pretty sure that anyone would be after the events he just went through. For almost two weeks he had been tracking down a small clan of vampires through the rough terrain of Japan's forests. They never entered any major cities, keeping to the borders of the outskirts only. They were a cautious bunch and were constantly fidgeting; it was hard to stay hidden when several pairs of eyes were looking every which way 24/7. Midorima had to stay behind them several miles to ensure that he wouldn't be found out. But this kind of behavior was to be expected of a band of newborn vampires.
Newborns were, in any case, the weakest of the vampire lines. When freshly turned, a vampire's body is left weak and fragile due to the harsh transformation. The sudden change takes a large toll on the body and it takes several years for them to be at their true strength. As they continue to age they only get stronger. It made sense though, the more blood a vampire consumes the stronger it would get no matter what. It disgusted him by how something that used to be human could eat its previous kind like that. A newly turned vampire, being in its fragile state at the time, is the most ravenous of all. So desperate for blood to cure itself of its weakened state, a newborn will feed almost mindlessly, killing everything that comes close.
It was this reason as to why Midorima was following them. Akashi had received news that a new clan was roaming the lands and requested that Midorima keep an eye on them for the time being. If they were to endanger and kill any humans out of regular feeding habits then he was to dispose of them. Supernatural creatures were hidden from human society. Even though a lot relied on a human's presence, whether it is for food, a mate, or even their own body to possess, most supernatural creatures remained secreted from them to ensure that the humans wouldn't begin a purge and kill off all supernatural things inhabiting the world. It was a law of the supernatural to keep secret from the dangerous human beings and Midorima and his pack were of the few in the world who made sure to keep everyone in check.
Day after day he had shadowed the ever moving small clan of newborn vampires. He had caught the scent of six of them, four males and two females. They traveled at a moderate pace but almost never stopped, leaving barely any time for the sharp eyed werewolf to rest let alone eat. He was thankful to have eaten a big meal the day before he left otherwise he was sure he would have fallen far behind by now from exhaustion. Over rocky, tall mountains and long pastures Midorima kept stride with them and never once let them out of his sight. They had already been traveling for four days then, the tall hazel furred wolf was sure that the clan would be getting hungry and he wasn't disappointed when, on the fifth day, the vampire's trajectory changed suddenly to head towards a small town several miles away.
Having nothing else on their mind, the vampires completely disregarded Midorima's presence when he sat down in an alleyway a little ways away from the feeding vampires. If Midorima was in human form then he would have an apparent look of disgust written on his features. It was most unpleasant to watch newborn vampires feed. They were clumsy in almost everything they did. The leeches had picked a target in the deserted streets of a town in the middle of nowhere. A quiet place, no eyes to see them, and no one to notice they were even there. It was for these things that Midorima let them be.
Even though it was in his morals to not kill things without reason he left them alone since they were not breaking any rules, however painful it was to watch them. A vampire had to eat and it wasn't Midorima's right to kill vampires that were doing nothing wrong, at least for the leech's standards. If Midorima were to kill them without having valid proof that they broke the rules then it would start a whole new dispute with the vampire clans and history would repeat itself. All supernatural creatures knew how bloody and terrible a war between the two long rivaled enemies got. Every single one of the wars almost led to the extinction of both and it was because of that that the leaders of the two created a truce. It was a very meager and simple truce but it was enough to stop a vampire and werewolf from ripping each other apart if they happened to meet on the streets.
After they were finished with their meal and had long since left Midorima slowly made his way to the crumpled female lying in a heap on the ground. She was young, no older than nineteen, and with her hair pulled into pigtails and bangs framing her face Midorima knew that she must have been very pretty. The bite marks littering her body destroyed her, what must have been, very soft and fair skin and blood splattered her sickly pale face from when her throat was torn out. The gash no longer bled, the corpse was completely drained of blood and the girl's eyes stared up at Midorima blankly, the light having left them through a gory demise. Midorima closed his eyes in remorse at the unfortunate death of someone so young and used the tip of his muzzle to lightly push down her lids to cover the lifeless gaze of the teen. The stoic wolf grabbed a hold of the girl's coat and carefully dragged her body to the side of a building. It was all he could do for her right now; he still had to follow the clan.
Not looking back, Midorima took off in the direction the newborns had went, his nose twitching as he picked up their scent and all but forgot about the other life the vampires had taken.
It had neared eight days before Midorima got the chance to eat. He was shaking from the fatigue of going so long without a meal. The vampires decided to hang around a waterfall in the middle of a forest and were relaxing under the shade from the harmful sun. Midorima took this chance to catch a meal before they ran off again. He didn't stray too far, he had one ear on them the whole time as he made his way through the underbrush and searched for food. It was times like these that he wished he had brought a small bag with him that he could carry food in because eating raw meat was anything but pleasant.
It didn't take him long before he caught the scent of a small rodent. It wasn't much but it would have to do, anything bigger and the blood could alert the vampires of his presence. He slowly stalked the small animal, careful to remain hidden as he slid on his belly to keep low and out of sight. Through the leaves of a bush he could see the small rabbit nibbling on a few stalks of grass, its long ears moving to detect any hints of danger and its little pink nose sniffling away at the flowers and plants around it. It was the easiest to catch prey when they were eating or doing something just as distracting, so it didn't take much for Midorima to catch it when he sprang out from behind the bush, his haunches extending as he pushed forward with all his might. The little cottontail didn't even have enough time to show surprise before Midorima had his jaws around it. A quick snap and the rabbit felt nothing as it died. Catching prey was easy but eating it was surprisingly the hard part for Midorima. The fur was a nuisance so he always started by plucking the pelt from the animal. He couldn't shapeshift back into a human; it was too dangerous with the vampires being so close, so he had to endure the long process of skinning the rabbit with his teeth.
Twenty minutes later Midorima was surrounded by the thick fur of the rodent and was starting to tear into his meal. Eating in this form was always messy. Not even through his second bite he already had blood and gore accumulating around his snout, he tried to wipe it off by dragging his tongue across his mouth but it didn't help. Eventually he forgot about trying to remain clean and began to rip vigorously into the dead rabbit. His hunger was overpowering and he couldn't stall any longer, the vampires could always leave at any moment. In the end the rabbit was not the least bit satisfying, it only made him hungrier and this annoyed Midorima all the more. Hunger was such a petty thing to have to worry about, next time he would definitely bring a bag of food with him.
When the rabbit was just a pile of bones and scraps Midorima was determined to find a stream of water to wash off his bloody paws and face. He steered clear of the waterfall and any pools of water nearby to the vampire's hangout and ventured further to a series of small streams that connected to a small river. He drank deeply, not knowing when he would come close to the next source of water and stood alert on the riverbed. The water was refreshing and moistened his parched throat. Even though the weather was still cold the signs of spring were starting to show and the temperature was slowly beginning to warm up. Midorima didn't care much for the heat, it made him unbearably hot in his furry coat and he felt like he was suffocating gradually most of the time in the severe heat. Hopefully this summer won't be as hot at last year's.
Midorima didn't notice it at first, the slight shift of movement from across the river. He could have blamed it on the roaring of the water or just the fact that he was too absorbed in his thoughts but he was completely unaware of the three pairs of eyes staring at him from the other side of the water. It was when the sound of twigs snapping did he raise his head in alarm to the other presences. Midorima, for lack of better words, looked to be a deer caught in the headlights. His body stood rigid as the curious stares regarded him from only twelve meters away. He could hear them talking amongst themselves. The vampires were confused by Midorima's presence; they probably had never seen a werewolf before. But it didn't take long before their weak minds gave into the instinctual nature of attacking him.
When a breeze flew by and carried Midorima's scent to the newborns, their eyes turned black with mindless rage as they threw themselves forward to attack the werewolf that was forever etched into their DNA as their enemy. Midorima was quick to act and met them halfway in the shallow river, the water only reaching five inches above his paws. The vampires were clearly unused to their new strength, and it didn't take long for Midorima to take them down. The first one had jumped into the air, intent on landing on Midorima's back to get the upper hand but the green eyed male was used to this type of attack and quickly disposed of the leech by grabbing his foot in midair and throwing him off to the side. The other two faulted in their steps at how effortlessly Midorima defeated their comrade before charging in. The female of the small group went low and tackled into his chest while the other male let out a feral snarl as he came from his side and launched at the wolf's neck. Midorima reared back on his hind legs, easily towering over the heights of the human sized vampires, to evade the snapping fangs of the male and then brought down his paws on the female vampire below him, crushing her with his weight.
A new voice entered his ears when a scream sounded off from where the vampires had come. Midorima took a chance to glance over and saw another male on his knees, tears streamed down his face as he stared at the crumpled body on the ground. She must have been his mate. Midorima thought to himself. He didn't have much time to dwell on that fact before the rest of the vampires erupted through the trees and pounced on him. Midorima dodged blow after blow, fluently evading everything despite his huge size. The vampires were slow and inept, not use to the changes in their new qualities and Midorima brought each of them down, one by one. A few managed to land some scratches on him but nothing that wouldn't be able to heal in the next few minutes.
He clamped his jaws around the head of a young male, his teeth puncturing deeply into the skin before Midorima jerked his head back and ripped the skull off the vampire's body, undoubtedly killing him. He let go of the bloody appendage and it flew in the air from the momentum, landing at the feet of the last male that was attacking him. It rolled to a stop next to his feet, the face contorted into a silent scream and it looked like the vampire was about to throw up at the gruesome sight. But he didn't get the chance when Midorima advanced slowly to kill him. The blue eyed male gasped in fear at the approaching wolf. Midorima knew he most likely looked terrifying, with all the blood covering his face and the blood from his paws and leaking wounds turning the water around him a light hue of red.
The leech backed up in fear before turning around to flee. Midorima didn't let him as he launched forward and pushed him down, getting a good grip on his head before doing the same as he did to the other one. He ripped the head off of the struggling male and the body immediately went slack, blood pouring profusely from the gaping hole in his neck. The green eyed teen dropped the head in disgust; the part had chunks of skin and muscle from the body still attached to it from the unclean split the power of the tear created. It rolled away, the force of the current pushing it down stream. Midorima looked around him, the carcasses and corpses littering the area turning the river into a sea of red.
He didn't want to kill them but when they attacked him he had no choice but to defend himself. It was their fault that they thought they could take on the beta of a powerful pack. Mere newborns were nothing to him. Sighing to himself, Midorima grabbed the nearest body and dragged him to the edge of the riverbed. The one thing that he hated when he killed a supernatural creature is that one had to burn them to ensure no human will find out about them. Even though a vampire is dead, there is still a chance that a human could find the sharp fangs hidden behind the gums of the normal teeth. It sickened him when he thought about their teeth, four long and sharp incisors rested behind the normal looking human teeth and when it is time to feed or fight the teeth protrude from the gums and push out the human teeth.
He heard it was actually quite painful for vampires to change their teeth, almost like werewolves shapeshifting. Every time they use their fangs, their body regenerates new human teeth and when they are done using them they push out the canines to take their place. The procedure was quite similar to that of a shark's.
He pulled the last body onto solid ground and then began digging a large hole. He didn't bring a lighter with him so he would have to bury them to hide their secret. As he dug he couldn't help but think back to when that vampire had cried. It was strange to him, to see vampires express emotions so openly. Usually the vile beings had no shred of humanity left when they turned but this one seemed almost devastated when he saw his mate die. Midorima snorted. Yeah he might have cried like a baby when she died but that didn't go for the same when he had drained the life out of that little girl, looking as if he was enjoying every second of it. It repulsed him on how they could feel joy when taking the lives of others.
He hopped out of the deep hole and grabbed one of the corpses to drag them into the cavity. The body fell like cement and made a dull thud as it hit the bottom. He carried on almost in a trance as body after body fell into the hole, dust rising into the air from the repeated impacts. When every part was placed inside Midorima began to kick back the dirt to cover the lifeless bodies. It was a tiring and long process but eventually the hole was filled and the bodies within were hidden, forever to be kept a secret. He pawed at the ground, trying to level it out the best he could before taking off through the trees, his destination being that of a long journey back to his home.
Arriving home, it wasn't surprising when he watched from above as Aomine and Kise exited the jeep but the third presence caught him off guard. It was unusual to see someone new amongst their pack; they normally kept to themselves and were probably the most mysterious pack out there. They had to be though; if they were to keep their leader's identity hidden from the creatures that wanted to spill his blood. Someone of Akashi's status was too valuable and having anyone unfamiliar near to them was a risk. New faces were a caution to the sharp eyed werewolf. They couldn't trust anyone in this world.
He watched silently as they conversed with each other, Kise and Aomine shaking each other's hands before entering the mansion. His eyes narrowed at the small teenager who was left behind. Was he another wolf? Or some other type of hybrid? Midorima knew that werewolves weren't the only shifting beings out there. He had heard tales of werecats and others lurking farther away from human society, all but forgotten as they remained hidden from everything. He gave the air a slight sniff. He couldn't smell another animal's scent on him that most shape shifters seemed to contain. But as he continued he noticed that underneath all the coppery muck of the blood and sweat, there wasn't much scent on the boy to begin with. Almost as if he weren't there, transparent from even the most skilled of noses. Midorima didn't like that.
He sat down and watched skeptically as the bluenette followed his two pack mates inside. He could already tell the two had a story to explain to the alpha. No outsider was taken into the house otherwise. Midorima waited a few moments before travelling down the steep cliff and slipping into the tall grass surrounding the perimeter of the house, time to go find out what was happening for himself and to give a report to Akashi. Midorima winced at the thought. After the previous dealings he knew his alpha wouldn't be pleased to hear the unfortunate events.
Kuroko stood in the front entrance of the modernized house. The whole place screamed expensive as he looked at all the different decorations and furniture occupying the main living room. From the outside, it may seem old; however the inside was anything but. The place was open and perfectly decorated and Kuroko knew that a woman's touch must have been placed here and there as he took in the sight of flower ornaments and other glass statues lining shelves. The double door entrance opened up to a large entrance hall and then to the main living room. Kuroko took off his shoes in politeness before heading further into the mansion.
The first thing that grabbed his attention was the huge fireplace set against the far wall with glass French doors lining the brick. The doors were left open and wind ruffled the long white curtains, giving the room a tranquil and airy feeling. Several couches gathered around a large coffee table in the middle of the marble tiled floor, brown throw pillows with leaf designs contrasting with the white fabric, and a dark green rug was placed below the furniture. A few black side tables sat next to the white sofas and Kuroko raised an eyebrow at the assortment of items placed on each.
On the couch to the left, the top of the table could not be seen anymore as it was completely piled with different varieties of snacks and candies. The packages practically fought one another for space on the wood creating a bizarre squashed rainbow affect. The lithe bluenette walked around the couch to get a closer look at all of the foods and sweets. Candy wrappers and a few cans of soda littered the armrest and any other empty space around it. It would seem this person is a bit lazy to pick up after themselves. Kuroko thought to himself, as he strode forward but his foot hit something small as he moved around the table. Surprised, Kuroko looked down to see that he had knocked over a few glass jars and a bowl of some leafy green objects.
A little frantic at his mistake, Kuroko squatted down to set the beakers back up and then shovel the substance back into the bowl. But when his fingers touched the green material it gave a shudder before bursting into a thin powder and vanishing. Kuroko sat there, a bit confused at what just happened. He blinked before deciding to leave the rest of the mess on the floor, too worried to touch it again.
He brushed his hands on his pants subconsciously as he moved on to the next table by the opposite couch, the one closest to the fireplace had several modeling and fashion magazines placed on top. It took Kuroko a second to realize that the male he was looking at on the cover page was in fact Kise. Kise-kun is a model? Kuroko wondered as he looked at all the poses the werewolf was performing on the paper. Glancing over to the side Kuroko's blue eyes caught the shape of a plane figurine placed almost carefully from harm's way on the table. A pair of pilot goggles rested next to the small plane and Kuroko thought that the orange color for the lenses was a bit obnoxious. Fitting, for someone like Kise. He mused.
Walking to the next table Kuroko found a few empty pop cans placed together in the corner and out of the way. A black game controller was set directly in the middle of the table and another bunch of magazines were underneath it. The genres for these ones were completely different from Kise's though. Several sport magazines were thrown into a pile and Kuroko read that most of them contained basketball news in them. Switching his gaze to the heap of papers that occupied the rest of the table, Kuroko read the headlines on some of them but only became confused when almost all consisted of details to murder cases and things of the like. Is this person a detective or something? The phantom player thought as he glanced down at the lines of victim's names and ungodly cases of murder. Not wanting to read anymore he turned to the next table to clear his mind from the haunting words printed on the paper.
Unlike the other three this one had everything placed almost perfectly on top. Everything was arranged in an orderly and proper fashion with not one thing out of place. A stack of medical books resided next to a small lamp placed by the corner, Kuroko curiously read the titles but stopped when the pronunciations of the words started to hurt his head. It was like the books were written in a different language, none of it made sense. Moving his eyes to the stack of papers occupying the rest of the black wooded table, Kuroko raised an eyebrow inquisitively at the title of the first page. 'SPN Victim Reports'. Nothing else was said which left the page blank. He lifted his hand to flip the paper over but another hand came out of nowhere and grabbed his wrist.
Kuroko jerked back, flinching from the touch, and felt a spike of fear travel though his body when the previous night's events came rushing to his eyes. A flash of fangs glittering in the light, black malicious eyes glaring hungrily at him, and pain flaring all through him as they tortured and beat him. A startled shriek escaped his lips unwillingly as he jolted from the person holding him. This seemed to surprise them as they let go of his hand quickly resulting in Kuroko losing his balance from the momentum and he crashed onto the hard floor. Kuroko stared at the ground, paralyzed as his chest heaved with panic. He didn't know why he acted like that, he was usually so impassive and calm during most situations. A simple, unexpected touch should not have made him respond that way. Footsteps were heard from upstairs and a worried voice called his name.
Kise and Aomine rushed down the stairs to see what happened to the distressed phantom player. And Kuroko could only sit there while Aomine confronted the one who had grabbed him and Kise kneeled down next to him to see if he was okay. It took a minute for the bluenette to get his bearings as he willed the unwanted memories to go away. He made sure to shove them deep within his mind, inside a large hole and locked behind several thick walls and doors to make sure that they would never leak out again. Kuroko didn't want to relive those nightmares again and believed it was much better to try and completely forget about them. He shook his head as he came to and pushed Kise's hand away when he saw the blonde waving the appendage in front of his face, trying to gain his attention.
He mustered a blank expression as best he could and told the overactive blonde that he was fine before pushing himself up off the ground and brushing his clothes off. He stood slowly, his body still a bit shaky from the surprise and cast his eyes over to the two males quarrelling a few feet away from him. Aomine seemed pissed as he yelled at another teen. His fists were clenched as he threatened him and his eyes were narrowed in anger. Kuroko followed his line of sight to the new presence in the room.
The stoic phantom player took back the thought of Aomine being tall; the person who stood in front of the dark bluenette was at least three inches taller than the smoldering azure eyed werewolf. He didn't look very happy as Aomine practically yelled in his face and he pushed up his glasses haughtily before crossing his arms in defiance as he retorted something back to the hotheaded teen. Whatever he said seemed to push Aomine over the edge as he lunged at the green haired male. Kise shouted at them to stop but they both ignored him as they rolled around on the floor, growls and snarls escaping their mouths as they pulled their lips back to show their teeth intimidatingly.
"Come on guys, stop it!" Kise tried to make peace between the two but to no avail. "You know it's prohibited to fight in the house! You'll get in trouble if-"
"Daiki, Shintarou, enough." A commanding voice ordered over the noise of the two fighting werewolves. Kise quickly shut his mouth when they spoke and stopped trying to push the two away from each other. Even though the voice wasn't directed to him he stood rigid and lowered his head to the floor, an instinctual habit when in the presence of the alpha. The voice wasn't very deep but there was a certain promise of pain if the one it was intended towards didn't do as it said. It confused Kuroko when the two fighting werewolves stilled immediately when the voice spoke and quickly stood up, their heads bowed and gazes lowered to the ground. Kuroko shifted uneasily, the atmosphere became heavy and rather tense when the new company walked in, this person must be very powerful in order to have an effect like that.
With inquisitiveness getting the better of him, the eyes of the phantom player moved over to glance in the direction of the new individual. He didn't expect to see the figure of a male not that much taller than him glaring down from the steps of the stairs at the two quiet werewolves. Is he their alpha? Kuroko considered to himself confused. Weren't they supposed to be big and powerful? Kuroko didn't know much about wolves let alone werewolves but he thought that the canines picked the strongest wolf in their ranks to be the leader of the pack. The one standing with mismatched eyes seemed rather frail to be leader especially with someone like Aomine in the pack. Shouldn't the dark skinned wolf be the one to lead, since he looked to be the most dangerous of all of them? Kuroko didn't know what to think as the red haired alpha sauntered down the rest of the steps, his eyes cold as he glared at the two misbehaving teens.
"This house is off limits to any rash activities. I will not have my house fall to ruin because you two could not control your tempers." He stood before the two his arms crossed in anger, even for his size Kuroko couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the stern expression plastered to the heterochromatic eyed teen. "I do not like disobedient dogs." The short male said with finality.
"Sorry, 'Kashi." Grumbled out Aomine from where he stood, he shuffled in mild annoyance from being scolded but kept his mouth from saying anything that would get him in further trouble. Midorima didn't say one word; just a breath of irritation left his lips, not liking how mighty the alpha appeared as he bowed his head lower in apology. Akashi nodded his head once before turning around to face Kuroko who was watching the exchange between them intently. Not expecting the other to be aware of his presence so soon, the small bluenette was caught off guard when the next thing that came out of Akashi's mouth was directed to him.
"You must be Kuroko Tetsuya." Akashi addressed him. The taller red head ventured closer to the frozen bluenette, his eyes studying him from every angle as he circled around him, like a predator to their prey. As he got closer Kuroko felt a bit underdressed as he saw the clothes the heterochromatic teen wore. Compared to his own slightly worn jeans and old t-shirt he had just thrown on in the morning, Akashi's well taken care of and styled jeans and his ironed white dress shirt that didn't have even a hint of a wrinkle in it made it seem like he had just walked out of a model magazine. The only thing ruining his impeccable image was the fact that his black tie around his collar was just halfway done, the fabric loose and barely hanging on his neck, his sleeves were rolled up most likely due to the hot day and his feet were bare since he was in his own house.
"-haven't you?"
Kuroko blinked his eyes when he saw Akashi giving him an expectant look. Had he blanked out? He didn't recall hearing him ask him a question. Not wanting to anger the red head any more than what he already was from the dispute between Aomine and -Shintarou wasn't it- Kuroko calmed his nerves and looked the alpha in the eye impassively. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that." He softly said and quickly looked away when Akashi frowned at him. He stopped his pacing and stood in front of the nervous phantom, eyes assessing every detail of him, practically tearing him apart from how harsh his gaze was. Kuroko gulped uneasily, a bead of sweat beginning to form on his temple.
"How is it that someone of your stature would gain the attention of a clan of vampires?" Akashi mused to himself, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face, not noticing how much that question offended the other. Kuroko formed a frown on his face from the insolent words. He didn't even know this "Akashi" person and already he was throwing insults at him? Kuroko didn't like this one's attitude. "I would like to know why you were involved in our escapade with the vampires and your connections with them."
Kuroko scoffed at the other's idiocy. How could he have any relations with those vampires?! They tried to kill him! Kuroko narrowed his eyes at the pack leader, no longer feeling threatened by him. If this was the leader of the pack then he didn't want anything to do with them! The sooner he leaves the better. "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't even know vampires existed a few hours ago." Kuroko told him.
Akashi raised an eyebrow at him. "My pack told me that the vampires wanted you for something, they said that they were so determined to catch you that they even gave their own lives for it." Akashi began circling him again; his arms clasped together behind his back while he stared down his nose at the unwavering phantom player. "It is unusual for vampires to be so stubborn during a hunt when they are at a disadvantage, especially with werewolves involved. Whatever they are planning, it involves you and I don't want to wait around and find out." He leaned his head down a bit, his face inches from Kuroko's own. "So tell me, why are you so important to them?"
Kuroko shifted back, his feet making the only sound in the area as the other three watched silently from across the room. "I don't know why I am so important to them," he began, growing exasperated that the other wouldn't stop his useless prying, "but I do know that vampires and other creatures like you do indeed exist in this world and that I happen to be thrown in the middle of it." Kuroko sidestepped the alpha, intent on leaving the werewolves and mess behind. He didn't care if he had to walk all the way home; he just wanted to forget that all this happened. Everything was too weird for him to comprehend at the moment. "So if you don't mind Akashi-kun," he started, emphasizing the suffix of his name, "I would like to leave now and forget this whole charade." He didn't get very far after he said the last sentence before arms shoved him up against the wall nearby and hands grabbed the front of his jacket, closing the airway in his neck.
He stood there, trying to still his rapid breathing as another horrifying sensation washed over him. Akashi's hands tightened on his clothes, his breath catching in his throat at the murderous expression marring the alpha's face. "I do not tolerate your words, Tetsuya." Akashi growled out, using Kuroko's emphasis against him with his own name. "You may not know it but I am the alpha of this pack, my status is far above yours. You will not talk to me that way lest you want to die." Kuroko didn't even struggle as the hands only seemed to tighten more, he couldn't breathe now and Akashi showed how serious he was by pulling the bluenette off the ground. His feet hung inches in the air and his back was pressed harshly against the wall, the heterochromatic eyed leader's way of showing his strength.
Akashi got a thoughtful look on his face as he contemplated what he had just said. "That might not actually be a bad idea. If the vampires want you so bad, then it might be safest to kill you now so they won't be able to continue their plan." He narrowed his eyes after that before letting go of Kuroko. The lithe bluenette gasped for air to cease the burning in his lungs as he crumbled to the floor on his knees. He brought a shaky hand up to his head where his wound was and almost groaned in anguish when he felt the wetness of blood soaking through the white bandages. The cut must have reopened when he was slammed against the wall. He just couldn't catch a break could he?
"Besides," he heard Akashi continue from above him without a hint of remorse for hurting him, "you ruined my plans of tracking them down to find their colony. Three months of information and patience wasted through the mistake of your presence being in the most inconvenient time." Akashi kneeled down before the bluenette, looking him harshly in the eyes. "If it wasn't for you then we would have been able to put a stop to those murderous parasites." He spat out without mercy as he stood back up. Kuroko flinched back at the cruel tone the alpha attacked him with, it bit through him almost physically.
Kuroko needed to think of something fast, this werewolf wasn't kidding about killing him. He could feel the murderous intent rolling off him in waves and it suffocated him with the weight. But what could he do? He didn't seem to be one to allow things through begging, so pleading for his life didn't look like an option. Besides, begging wasn't something Kuroko liked to resort to but he would use it as a last choice if need be. Kuroko looked over to the other occupants of the room, his eyes searching for help, but he was met with the werewolves looking down at the ground, their faces turned away from his as they allowed their alpha to do as he pleased. They wouldn't even look at him as they kept silent from across the room, another choice that wouldn't be able to help. So, without thinking, Kuroko opened his mouth to suggest something outrageous.
"I could help you." Akashi turned his head down at him curiously; even the avoiding werewolves glanced over at the preposterous option. Akashi waited as Kuroko fortified his bearings, his breaths coming out slower as he stood up to face the perplexed alpha. "If I had ruined your plans then please let me help you. I could track them myself and find their clan since they are already searching for me." Kuroko said almost emotionlessly but on the inside he was cursing himself for opening his big mouth and suggesting something so ridiculous. Stop! What are you doing?! He screamed at himself to shut up but it would seem that his body didn't want to listen. "Without me it might take you several more months to find them." He tried to reason, not knowing where he was going with this.
"I could find the clan for you."
Akashi regarded him with an amused expression. "Very well." he agreed after some thought.
So there it is. Thanks so much you guys for all the awesome reviews! They are really encouraging! I didn't think anyone would actually read this story, it's a big surprise to me really. Don't forget to review!