Disclaimer: As always, not mine. Just play with the characters~3

Warning: language, shounen ai, slight oOC, OCs, etc.

Beta: tora-chan38. Thank you very much for the help as always! I can't to do this without you, dear!

A/N: Okay, sorry for taking so long in updating. Had lots of things to do to prepare for a tournament, so… Ah, thanks for the reviews in previous chapter, oh! And of course for faving and alerting this story! XD Now, please enjoy the new chapter!

Signal

Part 6

Akashi stayed calm in easy silence as he was brought all the way to the Akashi Family main house despite the driver trying to engage him in a conversation. He wasn't in the mood to talk, so he ignored the man completely.

"It has been awhile since you came home, Seijuurou-sama," the driver said with an empty smile, his face reflected on the front mirror. "You must be quite excited."

Hn, as if—Akashi thought, stubbornly keeping his quietness despite his urge to at least complain about certain things.

It was true that Akashi no longer lived in the main house since entering middle school, and he would only go home to the main house on special occasions, like New Years, his mother's birthday party and/or his parents' anniversary, but that didn't mean he had to be eager to be home as well.

Honestly, Akashi didn't like staying in the main house for too long with his own family, especially when his mother was there.

As hard as it was to believe, it wasn't because Akashi disliked his mother. It was more because of the nature of his family… yes. It was more complicated. He despised his mother in one aspect, but he loved everything else about her. In short, he didn't get along well with her, despite loving her.

Akashi wouldn't admit it out loud or to anyone else, but for him… his mother was like his natural nemesis.

Because we are so alike—Akashi concluded. He was glad that she was there because she was the only person in this entire world who could catch on to whatever he was planning. The unexpected of what she could do entertained him sometimes, but at the same time, he wanted her to withhold her capabilities as well since she was prone to disturbing his plans.

Akashi sneered slightly as the limousine stopped in front of a big gate of a traditional Japanese style house.

"We are here, Seijuurou-sama," the driver informed, though it was quite obvious.

Akashi closed his eyes before opening them again and sighed. He didn't want to admit defeat (because he wasn't, seriously), but he would humor his mother once in awhile, just to show her that she couldn't get in his way without permission.

Akashi was annoyed that Kurenai always had a knack to bother him one way or another even though he didn't want the distraction at all.

Maybe talking to her will somehow tone down her urge to trouble me continuously—Akashi pondered as he got out of the car and walked down to enter the gate.

Immediately after the wooden traditional gate, which was crafted with an elegant peacock design and presently opened from the inside, some people were lined up on the side of the main path that led to the front door of the main house. They also bowed 90 degrees while shouting "Welcome home, Young Master!" as a greeting in unison immediately.

"Hn," Akashi sighed slightly before greeting back, "I'm home." He then stepped inside the gate and walked towards the front door at an even stride.

"How is your day going, Young Master?"

"Do you enjoy your school in Kyoto?"

"Are you going to stay in the main house for the winter break?"

Some of the men asked while he was walking, but Akashi just ignored them and faced straight forward.

"Ah, Seijuurou-sama is so cool today as well!"

Well, apparently they misunderstood. Akashi actually ignored them on purpose because he didn't want to deal with them, but they conveniently mistook it as a cool gesture.

Well, it couldn't be helped. Akashi was quite well known as a cold hearted young master that wouldn't trouble himself with people that were less powerful than him in the family. But that wasn't his intention. He just didn't want to get involved with them generally because…

"Heeey! Young Master is back! Hurry, inform Big Sister immediately!"

Akashi twitched slightly as scary looking men in suits scrambled around here and there, dutifully greeting him (some of them actually did that on their knees, seriously) as he entered the house.

"Seijuurou-sama, welcome!"

"Welcome home, Seijuurou-sama!"

Akashi was getting annoyed at their loud voices. "Be quiet, you imbeciles. Your voices are grating my nerves," he finally said something while looking down on them in irritation.

The men gasped before they stared at him as if they were love-struck instead of offended.

"Wow, Master is so awesome!"

"Ah, that deadly glare~! Big Sis will be so proud!"

A bead of sweat rolled down Akashi's cheeks as he let out a long suffering sigh at the enthusiastic reactions. Really, they were such masochistic bastards. Akashi was kind of worried that his elegant and gentleman personality would turn into the worst while dealing with them.

"Is mother around? I'd like to greet her and speak to her privately," Akashi huffed. He didn't intend to stay longer in the house more than necessary. If he was called to go home to speak with her, he would just do that and then leave immediately.

"Ah, Kurenai-sama is in the tearoom. She is playing Shogi right now. Does Young Master want to accompany her?" One of the men asked politely and Akashi nodded. "Then, let me escort you there!"

"Aah! Not fair, Aniki! I want to escort Seijuurou-sama too!" a younger one protested to the older man, pouting at him while making 'boo-ing' noise.

"Shut your trap, brat! It's ten years too early for you to complain to your big bro!" the man retaliated as veins began to dangerously throb on Akashi's temple. He was trying to control of his temper, but hearing those ugly men bicker gave him a headache.

Akashi actually waited for a good three minutes, letting them bicker over who would escort him until he snapped. "Forget it. I can go myself," he almost hissed at them as he resumed his walk.

"Ah!" the two guys blanched as they saw the angry glare from their Young Master. "We're very sorry!" they immediately bowed very repentantly.

Akashi ignored them as he left, not wanting to entertain the idea of maiming them half-dead for ignoring him as a good idea. Akashi found his way to the main hall soon after and turned left to go down the stairs, entering the lower chamber that held some ceremonial rooms. One of them was the tearoom that faced the backyard garden directly.

Kurenai loved flowers. She forced all her children to learn Ikebana (1) for her amusement. But of course she did that in a very sly way, with her tears and her pleas, and no men in their right mind would be able to turn down such request.

Akashi had just thought he loved ikebana as well until he realized that he actually did it to please his mother. Flowers didn't hold any special meaning for him; they were just a way to get her approval. It somehow sounded ridiculous coming from him now, as he had done exactly what she did to him, but to his minions to get what he wanted.

Akashi was raised that way. He learned about the world through his mother's way of thinking, much to his dismay. His father's more… naïve and honest way of thinking never got past the barrier his mother had set up to guard his mind since he was little.

Don't get him wrong. Akashi's father was a very brilliant businessman. He was charismatic and many people adored him as a very successful and great person. Moreover, he was generous and friendly, but that's it. He was naive and sometimes downright too sympathetic when he was dealing with humans in general.

He was an easy prey for many low-lives living among the human race. That's why Kurenai was there beside him. She could see those low-lives who tried to sabotage his business or just plainly use him for their own benefit.

Before they could do something harmful to her husband and her precious Akashi family, Kurenai would destroy them first. That's why the Akashi Family was so powerful in Japan, both financially and politically.

Akashi stopped in front of the tearoom, sat down formally, and took a deep breath before knocking twice on the wooden sliding door. "Excuse me, Mother. It's Seijuurou," he said in a clear short greeting.

There was a faint rustle from inside the room before a soft voice answered, "Come in."

Akashi slowly slid the door open, stood up, and entered before he sat down again and slid the door close. He bowed slightly to a very beautiful red haired woman, dressed in her extravagant flaming-red Kimono, in front of him with so much respect and politeness that people would hardly recognize him as Akashi Seijuurou for actually looking up to someone else in that extent.

"It's been awhile, Mother. I came to see you," Akashi said calmly before he straightened his body again and leveled his gaze at the woman with an eye patch on her left eye, a faint smile adorning his expression.

"Welcome home, Seijuurou-san. It's been eight months since the last time I saw you in the main house," Kurenai replied, giving him a small smile back, but her visible golden eye looked at him rather calculatingly. "You were not trying to avoid me, were you?"

Akashi almost winced, almost, but he could still maintain his smile nicely at the slightly inquiring (or accusing) tone. "Well, I never intended to avoid you purposely, Mother. It just happens sometimes. Basketballs and school activities tend to rob my time from thinking about anything else," he answered slowly and surely. He didn't need to lie either because that was true anyway. Commuting trains from Kyoto to Tokyo all the time was impossible with his school and basketball practice schedules.

"Hmm… you always have way with words, Seijuurou-san. I see… you kept yourself busy for the entire time so you did not have to think about the family matter," Kurenai chuckled and Akashi might have sweated a little at how good she was at reading between the lines.

There was a brief silence after Akashi chuckled as well, mimicking her action, somehow rather amused despite the increasing pace of his heartbeat for some unfathomable reasons. He then looked upward at Kurenai again before deciding to ask, "How is everyone doing, by the way?"

Kurenai's smile widened slightly. "Changing the subject so you do not have to answer, nice move," she praised, looking impressed by the subtle hint.

"I didn't mean to change the subject. I didn't think I need to answer your question because you already know the answer," Akashi said in his defense even though he didn't actually need to do that. He just didn't want her to get the wrong idea that she was pressuring him.

Kurenai looked slightly skeptical, but she seemed to relent afterwards, her smile never leaving her expression. "Alright, if you insist," she chuckled again. "Everyone is doing well on their part. There's nothing wrong in my little kingdom," she said, looking happy and content.

Yes, Kurenai was like this. She saw everything under her wings as her personal kingdom. Everything she did and wanted to do was based on her calculations seen through her Emperor Eye; about the things she expected to happen, about reactions she expected to emerge from a series of certain events that she had arranged, etc. She always took pleasure in confirming that everything she thought of was right and according to plan.

Akashi took Kurenai's way of seeing the world as his own. He was so alike to her it was almost ridiculous. However, one thing that he couldn't accept was…

"So, have you decided to take my place when I retire?" Kurenai asked now, still smiling so fondly sweet that Akashi thought she was playing him as well.

That wasn't going to happen though.

Akashi smiled back. "I already told you I wasn't interested in 'this side' of the world, Mother. Why didn't you give that role to Soujirou? He already showed his interest in expanding territory by doing a lot of suicidal actions that forced me to clean up his mess just because I don't want him to stain Akashi Family name with more blood than necessary," he said, honestly annoyed that he was steered to this conversation again.

"That is the point. You clean up so brilliantly. A quality befitted of a leader," Kurenai insisted, her smile never faltering.

Akashi heaved a long sigh. "I'm a capable leader, but I don't wish to involve myself further in 'this world' because I have my own life to live," he explained. Why couldn't she see that he wouldn't succeed her place as the 'shadow master' no matter what?

"Soujirou is more infatuated with you than with me. He wishes for you to succeed soon," Kurenai said again, seeming to disregard his reasoning. However, there was a difference in how she spoke this time. Her smile was intact, but there was an edge to her voice that Akashi had never heard before from his mother.

"Mother…?" Akashi was a little bit caught off guard with her intonation before he registered what she had just said. "Wait, Soujirou? What are you talking about?" He was rather confused now.

"That boy… his actions are getting out of hand," Kurenai said, reaching out her hand. "Come here, Seijuurou-san. Let Mother have a good look of your face," she requested suddenly, to Akashi's utter puzzlement of the sudden change of subject.

Akashi didn't question her as he slowly stood and approached his mother before sitting in front of her more closely. Kurenai reached her hand to him and then put her palm on Akashi's cheek. "Ah… it's been awhile indeed. You've grown so much in the past year," she said stroking his cheek softly.

Akashi twitched lightly. He hadn't grown a single inch since last year. He really wanted to retort, but he needed to be patient with his mother. He could always vent of his stress over his height on other people. There were plenty in this world he could demolish or simply cut with his scissors.

Kurenai was off limits. After all, if it weren't for her, Akashi wouldn't have been born in this world.

"Mother, about Soujirou…" Akashi tried to coax her into spill more information, since that matter was still hanging and she was rather distracted at that moment.

"Ah, yes… Soujirou… it is," Kurenai shook her head slightly before saying, "He is… how do you call it? Undergoing a rebellious phase, I believe," she chuckled at that. Akashi wanted to say that he himself was as well, but thought better of it and just raised his eyebrows, urging her to continue. "He is getting very unpredictable, his behavior, I mean. He never does what I expect him to do… I must say, as much as I am ashamed of it, I cannot control him anymore," she admitted, sighing and frowning slightly as well.

"Well, he does get too violent sometimes. It's worrying," Akashi understood immediately what she was implying. He didn't care if she wanted to get rid of Soujirou. It didn't concern Akashi at all. "So, what does this have any to do with me succeeding?" he asked, frowning.

"I told you. Soujirou is smitten with you… from the very beginning the way I see it. He really adores you, his older brother, very much after all," she smiled in amusement.

Akashi went rigid at that. "I didn't remember considering him as my little brother. I have no brother that I acknowledge," he said, turning serious.

"Except Kuroko Tetsuya," Kurenai repeated the words he said two years ago, before the accident happened. He widened his eyes slightly before immediately narrowing them at his mother's golden colored one. Her eye was brimming with mirth as he stared harder.

"What is your point?" Akashi lowered his tone, almost downright growling in anger at the 'threat' implication.

"The accident when you got 'The Eye'," Kurenai whispered, worming her finger closer to Akashi left golden eye. "Was it Soujirou's doing… because one of your 'generals' troubled you with his action, who was it again… Aomine Daiki?"

"It was according to my plan," Akashi said coldly.

"A plan you made on the spot just before Soujirou decided to destroy that ace's basketball career," she 'corrected' it while lifting his chin to look into her mesmerizing eye. "A very good plan, indeed… since the opportunity just came to you, so you could have this," she smirked, stroking the area around his Akashi's left eye with her thumb. Her rose colored nail dug slightly in his skin, as if she were about to gauge it out once again.

Akashi remained silent, only looking at her in the eye, expression turning perfectly impassive, so Kurenai wouldn't see how his inner self was conflicted at her words. Kurenai smiled again gently. "Soujirou is threatening to destroy your 'little perfect world', Seijuurou-san," she continued, backing off slightly to give Akashi his space as she seemed to realize that Akashi didn't even flinch, lest crack at what she was doing to him.

"Well, Soujirou did it out of love though… stupidly, infuriatingly, because he couldn't stand seeing your suffering from wishing and yearning that your generals would stick together no matter what," she looked another way, looking forlorn for some reason.

"I felt no such thing," was Akashi's even reply, denying and possibly not understanding what she said.

Kurenai smiled. "Humans… are creatures that cannot live in solitude, no matter how much they wish that they could survive alone… it is just not enough," Kurenai closed her eye now, looking so serene and ethereal that Akashi couldn't help staring at her openly.

"What are you implying, mother?" Akashi hated it when she spoke in riddles. Despite his brilliant mind, it was hard to decipher her words sometimes. He wished she could just tell him straightly.

Kurenai opened her eye and turned to face Akashi again. Her gaze somehow looked rather sympathetic and that irked Akashi slightly. "You might not realize it yet Seijuurou-san, but your world… is not just yours anymore," she said slowly.

"Huh?" Akashi was plainly bemused now.

"For you it might look like an absolute world… but I can assure you. It is imperfect. As one of the Akashis, I have raised you so meticulously well that sometimes you just cannot see what is too obvious. I had taught you to read the actions behind the words, to read the intentions behind the actions, but I never really considered that this could be your downfall as well… trapped inside your little 'ideal world' that is not perfect at all," Kurenai put both her palms on Akashi's cheeks, looking at him so sadly and heartbreakingly that Akashi was slightly disturbed.

Moreover, Akashi still didn't understand a single word she was saying.

"Mother…?" Akashi tried to push her away lightly, but her hold on his face was too firm.

"My miserable child…" Kurenai whispered before giving Akashi a soft gentle kiss on his forehead while holding him close. "I will always protect you, even if I have to cut all the ties you have with the world outside mine, as long as you can remain unharmed, then… I will do it."

A very unpleasant shiver ran down Akashi's spine as he heard those words, words that screamed 'You are mine' in such a diabolic way that nausea instantly hit Akashi. He would have hurled if it weren't for his iron self control to remain calm with a poker face.

It lasted only for a moment in actuality, but for Akashi, it almost felt like a lifetime before she released him. "Soujirou listens to you. You can control him. He will not go astray if you come back to succeed quickly and end your foolish belief in your basketball circle. You will not even play that game forever, Seijuurou-san," she said, smiling again pleasantly while Akashi was still trying to fight the queasiness in his stomach.

Akashi glared at Kurenai in dissent. Considering his basketball as foolish was going over the line. Even if it was Kurenai, Akashi was feeling angry with her for that one comment.

As if she could read the remonstration at the tip of Akashi's tongue (wrong, she definitely could), she quickly added, "Listen to me, Seijuurou-san. If you stubbornly want to keep that 'little world' existing, let go of it and watch it from afar. Soujirou is not as tolerant as me. He does not listen to me anymore. What do you think he will do to your 'generals' when he knows you do not want to come back because of them?"

Akashi actually gritted his teeth at that. "Is that a threat?" He couldn't believe this. Was his mother really that desperate that she even used a threat on him?

Soujirou's matter is indeed worrying, but he has no brain to pull such things without risking getting caught by the police…—Akashi knew better than taking what Kurenai said as a warning. She was threatening him that she would even use Soujirou to destroy the Generation of Miracles if he didn't accept the succession.

"Consider it as you like. You just have to remember that this is for your own benefit, my dear, dear beloved son…" Kurenai smiled again at Akashi, who chose to cease all of his expressions and stay silent about the matter.

It was at a time like this that Akashi wished his mother to disappear. He wished he hated her so that it would be easier.

Why… you asked? That's because…

Because…

Just like Akashi had mentioned a few times back, over and over only so he wouldn't forget.

Akashi… and his generals were like Shogi pieces.

Akashi was the King on the chessboard.

Akashi's life was a chess game.

And Kurenai, his mother, was the player of that chess game.

~Akashi x Furihata~

Monday rolled around quite calmly despite the event that happened the previous day.

Murasakibara and Himuro decided to stay in Kagami's apartment for another night after Himuro contacted their other teammates, captain and coach that they had to skip school and practice for family matters.

Aomine and Kise did the same thing, but in Aomine's case, Momoi did the contacting with whatever she came up with as the reasons for them skipping school and practice. Kasamatsu yelled at Kise through the phone that this was the last time Kasamatsu would be on the Kaijou basketball team and after that day he would resign because his time was up and if Kise would be alright not being able to play with him anymore. That's why, on Monday morning Kise immediately said good bye to everyone and went back to Kanagawa only to attend the 'last minute' practice before Kasamatsu officially resigned from the club.

Aomine wanted to go with him, but Kise told him to stay beside Momoi because she needed more protection than he did. "And stop treating me like a girl, Aomine-chi. I'm a man just like you. I'll be okay. Besides, Kanagawa is a faraway place from here," the blond huffed at him at the station.

"Not far enough. You heard what Setsuna-san said yesterday," Aomine said stubbornly, looking displeased at having to part with Kise when the situation was still undoubtedly dangerous for them to act alone.

Kise rolled his eyes. "Aomine-chi, trust me. I will be with senpai and the others all the time. I'll make sure not to walk alone," he said reassuringly and Aomine could only sigh in defeat at the confidence Kise showed him.

"Alright," the tan ace said, throwing his hands on the air in a surrendering gesture, "But you have to text me every hour to check up," he added gruffly afterwards.

"Two hours," Kise chuckled and shook his pretty blond head at Aomine's paranoia.

"Fine, every two hours," Aomine agreed, albeit reluctantly.

On the other hand, Midorima and Takao decided to go home Sunday night and keep going to school the next morning.

"If I let him bother my everyday life to the point where I can't even go to school out of fear of his threat, I wouldn't have survived living as his friend for the past three years," Midorima scowled, as he opened his front door, only to be surprised when Takao suddenly showed up with a cheery grin at his doorstep.

"I'll stay by your side all the time, just in case," Takao said after waving 'hello' to Midorima's mother and father as they went to school together.

"You don't have to," Midorima was annoyed even though there was that surge of warmth in his chest at Takao's thoughtfulness.

"Well, I just want to look cool in front of my Shin-chan," Takao grinned mischievously and Midorima flushed before scolding him to stop being so embarrassing in public.

Takao seemed to know that Midorima was quite happy though, so he just hugged Midorima's arm and Midorima let him despite the odd stares some people threw their way.

Meanwhile, Kagami and Kuroko were in school, practicing with the rest of the Seirin team after Riko interrogated them about the text message Kuroko had sent her about Akashi Seijuurou being in town the day before.

"How do you think he will react when he knows who I am?" Kagami asked absentmindedly as he was shooting the ball from the free-throw line.

Kuroko was practicing his drive against Mitobe when he heard the off-hand question. He stopped his movement long enough to glance at the redhead before continuing. In a split second he disappeared from Mitobe's sight to run past him and shoot his phantom shot against Hyuuga's mark.

"Damn! I can't see the ball!" Hyuuga cursed, but he was smiling for some reason when the ball swished inside the basket a short time later. He must have been quite proud and impressed at Kuroko's progress during this point.

Kuroko jogged to Kagami's side as the redhead turned around slightly to face the bluenet. "Do you plan to tell Akashi-kun about your relation with him?" he asked slowly, his curiosity somehow clear in his sky-blue eyes despite his deadpan expression.

"After what we heard yesterday, there's no way I could just leave him be, right? If he was forced to do that kind of thing by his 'family'… no wonder he was so adamant about making you guys 'his'," Kagami was rather affronted as he spoke, slightly pained even.

Kuroko looked down, looking rather disheartened himself. "All I want is just… for Akashi-kun to be free…" he whispered it so quietly that Kagami had to strain his hearing just to catch his toneless words, but he could read the strong emotion in it, and that caused Kagami's heart to ache a little.

Kagami was about to pull Kuroko into a reassuring hug when Riko blew her whistle, epically interrupting the moment. "We'll have the mini game between the first years and the second years! Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun, stop getting distracted. Sheesh, even if you guys met Akashi Seijuurou yesterday, that isn't a reason for you to disregard your practice. Look at Furihata-kun! He was captured by him yesterday, but he's fine and even worked up now," the brunette pointed at Furihata who cringed at that.

"That's because Coach threatened to triple my training menu if I slacked off today, right…?" the boy literally sobbed as he passed the ball at Kawahara.

Fukuda patted his back while smiling, "There, there…" with a tinge of sympathy in his tone.

Kuroko and Kagami looked at each other before they turned to stare at Furihata who was now being tortured by their coach for daring to talk back at her with his mumbles. Kagami was quite baffled and Kuroko seemed to be mystified. They agreed silently to ask some questions about his encounter with Akashi the previous day, later.

~Akashi x Furihata~

At lunch break, Kagami and Kuroko headed to 1-D, Furihata's class, to ask him to have lunch with them.

"Sure, at the cafeteria?" Furihata stood from his seat as he saw Kagami lift up his jumbo sized bread from outside his class to his direction.

Fukuda, who sat two seats behind Furihata, also stood. "Count me in!" he said while grinning.

The four first years then walked together to the canteen and met Kawahara on their way as they passed 1-A. "Having lunch together?" Having just emerged from the class, Kawahara raised his eyebrows as he saw them together.

The four students nodded in unison before Kuroko offered quietly, "Do you want to join too, Kawahara-kun?"

Kawahara's expression brightened at the invitation. "Awesome. I'm going to get my wallet first," he replied positively before entering his class again to retrieve his wallet and then immediately got out to join the others.

They took seats at a table in the corner of the cafeteria and started eating their respective lunches. Kuroko looked upward at Kagami as the redhead ate his bread with much gusto. He smiled slightly while the others stared at Kagami, gaping.

"Kagami… you really can stuff your stomach to such extent, huh?" Furihata said, blanching slightly as he seemed to feel rather squishy at the way Kagami eat.

"Hm? It's delicious," Kagami said with a certain sparkle in his eyes before he glanced down at Kuroko's lunch and heaved a long sigh. "Kuroko, you eat too little," he huffed.

"I feel full watching Kagami-kun eat," Kuroko said offhandedly, drinking his boxed vanilla milk slowly while holding a half-eaten sandwich in his other hand.

"What a pair of strange guys," Fukuda commented while huffing aloud at the way Kagami and Kuroko bickered.

"But, watching them like this is always enjoyable, huh? I don't know… they seem to complement each other somehow. As expected from Seirin basketball team's light and shadow," Kawahara grinned.

Furihata and Fukuda smiled, agreeing immediately before the shorter brunet then turned to face Kagami and Kuroko again while eating his own lunch. It was true that Kagami and Kuroko looked very compatible with each other. At first, it was only on the court, but lately….

Furihata noticed that Kagami and Kuroko were always together. In the classroom, during the break, at basketball practice… even when they went home. They looked very close as well, unlike the first time they met each other. Kagami smiled a lot around Kuroko and Kuroko showed more expressions when he was with Kagami.

The way Kagami and Kuroko interact with each other was kind of nice. Is it possible that…

"Oh, man! I'm stuffed!" Fukuda groaned while patting his stomach in satisfaction. His exclamation brought Furihata out of his inner mussing.

"Oh, nature calls," Kawahara suddenly stood up. "I'll go wash my hand first," and he was immediately off.

"Ah, I want to go too!" Fukuda stood as well before following Kawahara to the restroom direction.

"Sheesh, they didn't have to be that loud about it, did they?" Kagami shook his head and Kuroko just chuckled slightly.

Furihata's interest was piqued once more as they went back to conversing about everything and nothing. It suddenly made the brunet curious of the nature of their relationship. "Ne, Kagami and Kuroko… Are you guys dating each other?"

Kagami immediately burst out the bread that he was currently chewing and Kuroko, for some reason, bent down just in time to retrieve his fallen handkerchief from the ground. But they both looked speechless when they stared at Furihata afterwards.

"W-w-what the hell are you asking so suddenly like that?!" Kagami screeched, his face reddening spectacularly that Furihata instantly realized that he had hit the bull's eye.

"Furihata-kun, how…?" Kuroko looked surprised. Furihata was silently proud that he actually could make Kuroko wear such expression.

"No, well… you guys seem a lot closer than the first time you met. I mean… it looks very natural somehow, seeing Kagami and you together. The way you act with each other… it would be weird if you weren't dating, I guess," Furihata scratched his cheek with his index finger, feeling rather sheepish.

Kagami's face went redder at the comment and Kuroko looked down, somehow looking embarrassed as well before he showed a small smile again. "Furihata-kun… you are surprisingly quite observant, huh?"

"Eh?" Furihata blinked once before he blushed. "Eeeh? W-what's with the sudden compliment?"

"Jeez," Kagami scratched his hair slightly, face still flushing in embarrassment. "I thought we were being careful…"

"Eh?" Furihata turned to face Kagami confusedly.

"We were being careful," Kuroko nodded. "Furihata-kun is just very perceptive," he continued while sighing lightly.

"So… you're alright with us being together?" Kagami asked Furihata, his face showing a rather awkward expression.

Furihata huffed out a light laugh at that. "Of course! You guys are great together. I have nothing to complain about," he grinned now, completely supporting the idea.

Kuroko smiled with a relieved expression and Kagami was bitching at Furihata for being so noisy.

A few minutes later after they were relatively calm again, Kuroko asked, "So I heard yesterday you were with Akashi-kun for some time."

"Ah… yeah," Furihata looked down thinking about Akashi and his encounter the day before. "I was forced to entertain him when he was waiting for his minions…" he cried again, suddenly feeling so relieved that he could get away in one piece.

"Minions?" the red head visibly growled, a vein of annoyance popping on his temple.

"Did he do something to you?" Kuroko looked concerned now.

"No, well… his deadly glare was enough to make me do a dogeza," Furihata replied, his tears still flowing.

"A dogeza?" Kagami blinked once, looking confused before Kuroko explained what it was to the redhead. He literally dropped his jaw once he heard it. "You literally kneeled down and bowed in front of him until your forehead touched the ground?!" he repeated with a shocked look.

"It couldn't be helped! I was really terrified for interfering with his business!" Furihata said defensively, feeling very self-conscious.

"What the hell happened?" Now Kagami seemed very curious about it.

"Eh… he seemed to be in trouble… no, that wasn't right. Some people tried to bother him and insult him, and he was in the verge of stabbing them with scissors, so… I stepped out before it went down there," Furihata said, looking helpless.

Kagami's face was alternatively paling and disbelieving before he said, "You are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko gazed at Kagami in disapproval. "But… he really did not do anything to you?" he faced Furihata once again, still sounding a little bit worried.

"Well, he bought me coffee in a very fancy, expensive looking café," Furihata said, smiling slightly at the memory despite the way he was coerced to go with Akashi. "Surprisingly, he wasn't like what I thought he was before."

"Huh?" Kagami looked puzzled.

"Hey, Kuroko, about Akashi-kun… what kind of person was he during his middle school years?" Furihata ignored Kagami's confused expression as he decided to ask.

"Why do you ask?" Kuroko asked back slowly, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Um… I'm not sure. When I was with Akashi-kun, somehow… I felt strange." Furihata put his hand on his chest, feeling his heart pick up its pace at the image of Akashi's mismatched eyes he had seen at close range yesterday. "There's something about him that bugs me," he continued, closing his eyes slightly.

"Yeah, the way he could terrorize people just by being there," Kagami muttered and Kuroko seemed to kick his shin for that comment as the redhead yelped in pain.

"Err… of course, at first I was very afraid of him before I actually spoke to him, but… when we finally spent time together; I felt like… there's something more about him than meets the eye. It feels like multiple layers from a personality lumped together to hide something very precious inside… or something like that," Furihata couldn't explain it well, but more or less, that's what he felt when he thought about his time with Akashi after he was alone at home yesterday.

"Furihata-kun…" Kuroko looked astounded as he heard it. Kagami blinked once after he finished nursing his shin before turning somber at Furihata's next words.

"Maybe this is just my overly active imagination, but…"

I want to know more about him…—Furihata couldn't help feeling that way.

"Ha, he has that effect on other people," Kagami said, looking at the snow outside the window. "Kuroko was right. You are surprisingly very perceptive," he continued while inconspicuously glancing at Furihata once again.

Kuroko smiled as Furihata was slightly bewildered at being praised by even Kagami. "Do you want to know more about Akashi-kun, Furihata-kun?" the bluenet asked afterwards.

Furihata stared at Kuroko for a moment before making up his mind. "Will you tell me more about him?"

"Yes," Kuroko said, looking somewhat positive and confident.

Kagami glanced at Kuroko with slight uncertainty in his eyes, as if he were questioning what Kuroko was up to by telling Furihata about Akashi Seijuurou.

~Akashi x Furihata~

"Are you sure this is alright like this, Seijuurou?"

A man in his forties spoke from behind his desk in an office room of a certain big building in Tokyo. Akashi was sitting on a plush chair at the coffee table across his office desk, looking eerily calm as he sipped his tea from the cup.

"Yes, father," Akashi answered slowly after he put down the tea.

Akashi Seiji looked at the teenager concernedly before he stood and walked towards the coach across Akashi's seat and sat down in front of him. "You know you don't have to oblige in your mother's every selfishness. Just tell me and I will back you on," he said trying to find any expression of dissatisfaction on his son's face.

Unluckily, Akashi was very much alike to Seiji's wife, so the middle aged man couldn't read the boy's expression very well. His wife, Kurenai, was very good at pretending. She had so many masks that they were like her second skin. His son picked up her habit on putting them up in any situation to give them leverage.

However, Akashi was even better at hiding his own feelings. While Kurenai was always certain on showing what she wanted with her mask, Akashi was slightly different. He could put up an emotionless mask to hide his pain. He would do something about it later, but he tended to hurt himself over it and that's what Seiji didn't approve.

Akashi Seijuurou was a gentle person deep inside, but he was forced to put tough layers on it because his mother held an expectation for the boy to succeed her. Seiji had tried to speak to her about how unhealthy it was, but in the end, she didn't want to listen to him.

Kurenai loves Seijuurou too much to let him go.

"Mother has nothing to do with this. It is my wish… to transfer back to Tokyo," his son said, lowering his gaze to the low coffee table.

Seijuurou…—Seiji gazed down as well as his eyes caught the sight of his cell phone in his breast pocket. He stared at the cell phone for a moment before deciding. Setsuna-san… it seems I have to ask for your help for real now.—He put his hand on the tip of the lid before looking upward at Akashi surely.

~Akashi x Furihata~

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Aomine and Kagami shouted in unison, looking very shocked and aghast as Momoi told them about the news while they were playing one on one in a street ball court in Ginza.

"I didn't want to believe it either, but there was news about it at the Rakuzan school bulletin. My contact in Kyoto wrote it in their school newspaper and website. The whole Rakuzan team was in an uproar and the coach even called me, ME of all people to ask what happened to him in Tokyo when he was here!Do you understand what this means?!" Momoi sounded very hysterical at this point.

"C-calm down, Satsuki, we don't know if he really transfers to Tokyo to run his plan to punish us, or if there are other reasons for his sudden transfer… oh my GOD! Is he really transferring here to Tokyo?! To what school?!" Now it was Aomine who seemed to panic after the news registered inside his mind and trampled on his sanity.

Akashi Seijuurou is transferring back to Tokyo…!? That's insane! What about Rakuzan then?—Kagami couldn't help gaping speechlessly as the thought was running rampant in his head, spinning at the speculation of what Akashi was up to or if something really happened to him.

"I don't know. But Mibuchi-san and the other regulars from his team are heading here in order to ask Akashi-kun personally and they even asked me if I could bring them to Akashi-kun… Don't they know that information about Akashi-kun is OFF LIMITS?!" Momoi was covering her face now, looking totally distressed.

Aomine and Kagami looked at each other in total perplexity before the tan ace moved to calm Momoi once again by pulling her into a hug. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked afterwards, seemingly confused.

"I don't know… but I think we should speak to him as well," Kagami looked down, already planning to call Takao and Himuro. "I'll ask mom about the Akashi Family main house she told us before. Maybe we could see him there," he clenched his fist and looked upward without a doubt.

Akashi…!

~Akashi x Furihata~

"How are you doing back to the real home, Sei-nii?" Soujirou asked from where he was sitting, both palms on his chin, staring at Akashi who was playing Go against himself silently.

"Don't speak to me. I'm in the middle of exercising my brain," Akashi said putting another Go piece on the board, not even looking at Soujirou's face.

Souirou chuckled slightly at his statement. "Sei-nii is as cold as ever. So cool!" he exclaimed, looking very happy for some reason.

That certainly irked Akashi. "Why aren't you at school, Soujirou? It's still a day before the start of winter vacation," he spoke again after he made another move with the white piece to cover some areas on the board while thinking the next formation to counter the move.

"Well, Sei-nii is at home too. I heard that you decided to transfer back to Tokyo. I was so happy that I want to stay beside you all day, Sei-nii," Soujirou said, a teasing smirk decorating his face.

Akashi stopped focusing on his Go play for a moment to face the younger one with a slight frown on his face. "That's not good. You need to go to school properly. Can't have your attendance less than mandatory or else you won't be able to graduate," he said, displeased. Soujirou was a third year now. The final exam was over, and he was certain that his brother could do well on his exam, but his behavior was another thing.

Who knows if his middle school decided to hold him back for skipping too much?

"Don't worry about that. It's taken care off. Moreover, don't you want me to play that Go against you?" Soujirou flailed his hand in a dismissing gesture and then stared expectantly at Akashi.

"I refuse," Akashi huffed and went back to his playing.

"Eeeh, why?" Soujirou protested.

"Playing with you is worse than playing against a beginner. You are too easy to read so it's not even a challenge," Akashi replied and the younger made a pitiful noise of how mean Akashi was to him.

"Then, stop playing and talk to me more~!" Soujirou whined.

"Shut up or I will throw you out of my room," Akashi glared at him now, starting to feel the rise of irritation.

Soujirou's eyes visibly twinkled at that. "Are you mad yet?" he sounded so joyful at the prospect of getting a punishment from his older brother.

Sick bastard.—Akashi sneered at the younger and sighed deeply, calming himself down. He couldn't even play Go in peace with Soujirou around. That's why he hated staying at the main house. Maybe he should go back to the house he usually stayed at in Tokyo.

"Nah, Sei-nii, mother just told me this morning that she sold the small house near your middle school," Soujirou suddenly informed. Akashi widened his eyes slightly in surprise at that.

Ck… so she even went that far to confine me in this house, huh?—Akashi clenched his fist hard in a moment of rage, but he immediately controlled his emotion and glared icily at Soujirou.

"So what?" Akashi asked.

"Whoa, so scary…! That look is pure evil, Sei-nii! It's so awesome!" Now Soujirou was fawning over him and Akashi was ready to take his scissors and slash the guy when he heard a sudden ruckus from the front yard.

"What is that?" Akashi was alerted as he heard the tell-tale sign of struggles.

"Ah… it seems someone broke into our front yard," Soujirou smirked dangerously.

"…out here! Akashi! Come out here, damn it!"

As Akashi heard a familiar voice, he immediately stood up. "That idiot," he briskly went outside his room and quickly ran down the corridor that brought him outside, Soujirou hot on his heels while asking if Akashi knew who it was. But Akashi ignored the younger brother in favor of running faster.

As soon as he reached the front door, he stopped and stood still at the doorstep, seeing a tall red haired teenager who was struggling while being held down by three guards from the gates of his house. "What do you think you are doing, Kagami Taiga?" He stared down at the Seirin basketball team's ace in disbelief. How did Kagami know he was here anyway?

Moreover, what the hell was Kagami doing breaking into other people's house, a yakuza head quarter to boot, alone and unprepared. Was he insane? Or… stupidly idiotic? Akashi heard that the buffoon wasn't so bright in the brain. Apparently that was an understatement. Kagami Taiga didn't have a brain.

Kagami though, only smirked albeit rather painfully because he was being held down roughly by the guards. "Yah, cousin… It's been two days, and I got the impression that you wouldn't show your nose to contact us again, so I decided to come down here to have that conversation you promised us," he said sounding confident, his crimson eyes burning with intent.

"How insolent! Don't talk with that kind of language to Seijuurou-sama!" One of the guards was ready to hit Kagami in the face, but Akashi quickly stopped him.

"Wait!"

The guard halted his movement and Akashi narrowed his eyes at Kagami. "What did you just call me?" he asked, just to make sure that he had heard him right.

Kagami's smirk widened slightly. "Cousin, Akashi Seijuurou," he said with poise.

Cousin…? What is he talking about?—Akashi didn't understand this.

"You have no idea at all, don't you, Akashi?" Kagami asked huffing out a chuckle lightly as he seemed to have realized that he surprised the smaller redhead.

"Being delusional is he?" Soujirou asked suddenly, gazing mockingly at Kagami from behind Akashi.

Kagami clearly perked up as he heard the voice and narrowed his eyes when Soujirou emerged. "So it's you… Akashi Seijuurou's shadow, Akashi Soujirou," he mumbled out loud seriously and it surprised Akashi even more that Kagami actually knew Soujirou.

"Hoo? He knows me? How rare… someone actually knows me as my brother's shadow," Soujirou smirked, looking down at Kagami with predatory look.

"Why… how did you…?" Akashi, for the first time in his life, seemed to have lost words. He liked the unexpected, but a surprise to this extent wasn't healthy for his heart.

"I'll tell you everything, Akashi. Let me talk to you and I'll tell you everything that I know because I need some answers from you as well," Kagami said looking very sincere, now facing Akashi once again after glaring at Soujirou.

All… explanations…

Akashi turned serious as well in reaction. "Very well," he said surely. "Let him go. I need to speak with him," he ordered the guards, who immediately released their hold on Kagami's body without many questions.

"Sei-nii!" Soujirou obviously protested, but Akashi ignored him as he addressed Kagami now.

"Follow me, Kagami Taiga. I will make you explain everything," Akashi then led Kagami who responded to his order with a light snort, standing up and dusting himself before following Akashi.

"Yeah, right, I want to explain things not because you want me to, but because you need to know," Kagami grumbled.

Akashi remained silent as he steered Kagami to go to a secluded area. He had sent Soujirou away because he needed to speak privately with Kagami. "Now spill," he ordered.

"Firstly, you need to know the history of our parents," Kagami said. "Are you ready, Akashi? This is huge."

"Bring it on."

End of Part 6

Tbc…

Additional Notes:

1)Ikebana: flower arranging activity

A/N: Ugh… sorry for being so late in posting this. It took a LOT of time to construct this chapter. I being busy with preparation for a tournament wasn't helping as well. Yes, I won't be able to update for awhile (I hope not more than two weeks) because I have to participate in a table tennis match at the other city. Won't be able to write and access computer for the time being starting at October 17th. Wish me luck!

I'll try to make up my tardiness in updating with more words. Tell me if it's too long for you, and I will divide it into two parts!