:VI:
Nigou stood at attention beside his disgruntled partner as Kuroko inspected the last of the man's gear. The haul back to the temple had been uncomfortable. Nothing had gone according to plan and Kuroko was displeased with his arbitrary choices.
He hadn't consented with Aomine to leave or to send Nigou after the elk. Where they needed to be was with him. Both would have contained Kagami long enough to allow Aomine the upper hand.
His partner had tangled with the Fire breed before. But none of this caliber.
He recalled their brief post-conflict exchange.
"Allow me to carry him back to the temple, Aomine-kun." Kuroko knew it was disgraceful to seek absolution now that he'd screwed up.
But he couldn't let Aomine worsen his condition by lugging the man back with what may be a third degree burn. All other damages aside. Kuroko had witnessed the attack, caught off guard by how suddenly it transpired. One moment he was monitoring the bow trained on the elk and the next it had bolted off and Aomine was crushed beneath a large body.
What could he have done?
No, excuses were unacceptable. Kuroko put too much faith in Aomine's schooled composure and assured himself that he could act alone. Somehow convinced himself to allow his partner a moment of relaxation. The milestone achieved today during the board meeting, along with the success of the hunt, warranted slackened supervision.
It was the first time he had so horrendously miscalculated.
And he swore on his now indefinite life there would not be another.
He raked Kagami's form folded over Aomine's shoulder as he stuck to his flank. The man was a smidge smaller than Aomine in height but was built like a brick wall. Ferocity exuded his features even through the mask of paralysis. Short red hair topped his head with darkened tips. The man was clothed in similar gear to both he and Aomine, suitable to covert operations.
Kuroko filed that away for future inquiry.
"Aomine-kun." He tried again.
"Quiet," was Aomine's quick rebuttal.
His heart clenched. Dammit.
"Aomi—"
"Just sneak us into the holding cells undetected and don't say another word."
He couldn't argue.
So he nodded.
"Looks like he came after me fully-cocked." Aomine glanced to the sprawled weaponry. "More than anyone else had. I should be flattered."
Kuroko said nothing, remembering his orders to remain silent.
Entering the holding cells of the hunter's guild had proven vexing. Ingress through the lobby was simple, as nearly all the hunters were on assignment retrieving or delivering goods for the temple kitchen. Others were sure to be mingling with temple residents in the dining hall or dedicating themselves to exercise in the gymnasium. Technicians maintaining the armory made traversing to the basement level difficult. They managed to skulk through lesser lit halls, much to Kuroko's advantage, and located the holding cells. Aomine expressed gratitude for the lack of POWs.
He looked to Kagami.
The man sat on a wooden chair in his underwear with his chin to his chest. A charcoal undershirt was tousled from an inspection for withheld items. Experience disciplined Aomine to take every precaution with the enemy. The sharp lighting of overhead bulbs made it easy for Kuroko to restrain Kagami with the plenitude of shadows tattooing the smooth stone. Black belts encircled the wrists, ankles, and hips.
"Tetsu."
He flinched, the voice calm as it soothed his timid nerves. He caught Aomine's embittered grimace. Drying blood caked Aomine's fringed shirt and, even without facing him, Kuroko could see a rosy rawness to his partner's dark skin. There hadn't been enough incentive to encourage Aomine to prioritize and seek treatment. Nor did Kuroko impose.
"Be ready. I'm waking him up."
—
A violent kick roused Kagami with an undignified snort. He snapped upright, throwing his distorted gaze around the room. His jaw ached like hell. As did his foot and groin. Try as he might, he couldn't soothe the more intense of his discomforts.
He heard a vindictive chuckle and squeezed his eyes shut to clear the film over his eyes.
"Payback for the burn, asshole." The voice was deep and languid.
For a moment he entertained that such a tone could put him to sleep. "Hardly recompense for all the damage you've done."
A sudden twinge of copper hit his tongue and he cringed. Fucker split his lip.
"Can't say I ever offended you, Kagami Taiga, Lord Akashi Seijuurou's precious baby brother."
"Half-brother," Kagami snapped at the flagrant sarcasm.
Aomine shrugged which only embellished his temper. He gauged the restraints with a few tugs. Not rope or twine. In fact, it felt like nothing but pressure. Which meant he was being anchored by the bastard's bodyguard. Yet where was he?
His studied Aomine Daiki. Tall and lean. Swarthy-skinned and a face tightened with appraisal. Despite his size, he hadn't felt like much when Kagami took him down. Though being taken off guard factored into how easily the prick crumpled underneath him. A diligent air surrounded him. But something was amiss. A certain dullness consumed Aomine's eyes. Kagami had been told that Aomine not only headed his own outfit but also held a position as an Ambassador on the War Administrator's board. A high honor, to be sure. Not to mention the triumph of surviving nearly one hundred and twenty attempts on his life; forty-eight of which had come from the Fire Apparition charter of Shadow agents.
So why the unfulfilled look?
He didn't muse long as Aomine leaned off the table, revealing a massive dog sitting rigid. Apprehension overtook him. The stare in those vacant eyes clutched him in a vice. If there were anything more apodictic in this world, it was that Kagami did not like dogs.
"You're a goddamn idiot." Not the opening line he expected.
Kagami quickly schooled his features.
"You trying to unsettle the balance?"
"Right," he scoffed, defiantly turning his face away. "Because this whole issue is the Fire's fault."
"Ask the border towns." Aomine's rebuke was swift. "I'm sure the families will have an adequate answer."
"It's not like you didn't see this coming, asshole. Let up with the bravado already." Rough pressure squeezed the restraints and he jerked his head down to his lap. A black belt wound tight around his waistline. He peered over the edge of the chair to the ebony pool where he spotted an arm leading away. It connected to the thick shadows of the table where his equipment lay. It was then that he noticed a form nearly molded to the darkness. A man, from a brief glance.
But he was given no time to examine further. Aomine stepped in the way.
"I didn't see the brother—"
"Half-brother."
Aomine popped his face. "How did I not see my fated meeting with the annoying kin of Akashi Seijuurou?"
Kagami sat stiff, obstinate. He searched the deep recesses of the bastard's eyes. It seemed Aomine wasn't privy to the truth.
Perfect. A workable advantage.
Not like his current predicament. But Kagami celebrated one victory at a time.
The pressure to his fetters returned and he yelped, looking around Aomine to the man at the table.
"Cut it out," he barked, in English.
Both men's faces twisted in confusion, which only delighted Kagami more. English was the Apparition political vernacular, necessary to settle international debates in comfort. A conciliatory movement to satisfy the sovereigns, all of whom refused to educate themselves in each other's language. Not all were taught. Only those to be found in political conventions. Kagami had simply found the language entertaining and offered to be his brother's translator. He silently wondered then why Aomine hadn't understood.
A sudden hand flattened across his mouth dampened his elation. Aomine's fingers squeezed and his face neared.
"Don't fuck with me." Each syllable was venomous. "What do you mean I should have expected this? And answer wisely. I'd rather not disfigure your face."
The hand slid away but remained ready to act.
He straightened himself, looked Aomine in the eye, and said, "You're a Neutral."
—
Aomine hadn't expected himself to react so violently.
His knuckles pounded Kagami's jaw as soon as the words left his mouth. It resonated like one's palm slapping stone. The man's head tore to the side and a flash of pain contorted his face. Blood spotted the floor as Kagami groaned and readjusted himself in the chair. If his hand throbbed, then he only hoped he'd transmitted some of that pain through this prick's skull.
He shook away the growing numbness and repeated, "Don't fuck with me."
But Kagami only grinned. The urge to slug him again was tempting but he refrained.
"Wow, this is actually less enjoyable than I thought it'd be." The man tipped his head to one side and spit a dollop of blood.
Aomine's patience was wearing. Pain festered in nearly every inch of him. Anger only exacerbated it.
Him, a Neutral? He wouldn't believe it.
So he reigned in his composure and tried, "And why is that funny?"
"Not so much funny as disappointing."
His mouth tightened. Kagami appraised him with a look he did not appreciate.
Then he snorted. "Are you really that naïve?"
Rationality told him not to rise to the bait and he remained silent. Either way, he wanted—no, needed—to hear what Kagami had to say. And the less exertion on his part, the better. Coping with the upcoming character assassination, though, would prove challenging.
"You live in the Ice Nation with your doting uncle," the man started, assuming an air of superiority that rankled Aomine. "The Dan of the Ice. An Ice Apparition. And for one hundred years of your miserable life you can't even pick a snowflake out of the sky."
The words left him too quickly. "It's a birth defect."
Kagami's brows rose with feigned interest. "So which of your parents was genetically inept?"
Aomine struck him again, evening out the other cheek for good measure.
"Well," the man strained through a painful cringe. "Seems I've got your full attention now."
Without restraint he fisted the prick's hair and cruelly arched his neck across the back of the chair. The blinding glare sealed Kagami's annoying scarlet gaze.
"I will break your goddamn neck."
"Touchy subject, then. Parents."
He shoved the Kagami's head forward and inhaled a long, deep breath. The pain intensified and Aomine realized that what had once been a fortuitous day was now squandered. If he managed a wink of sleep at all tonight, he would be genuinely surprised. Allowing Kagami a moment to shuck the petty teen rebellion, he situated himself at what he considered a reasonable distance and slumped back against the table.
After a spell of groaning through the pain he was sure rattled the man's brain, Kagami spoke again. "It never bothered you that Imayoshi lied away your case of sterilization by admission of a 'birth defect'? Did you even bother looking into it? You're a goddamn Neutral." The man shifted, seeking comfort. "The only thing in this realm we hunt more than game, are Neutrals. One hundred and twenty times you've been targeted and it never struck you as odd?"
Aomine said nothing.
"Just because you look like an Ice Apparition doesn't affiliate you among their ranks. What about the fact that you're the master hunter and Imayoshi's Ambassador? You know how many pureblooded Apparitions vie their asses off to land that seat? It was handed to you. Because your pathetic uncle pitied your lonely existence and gave you something to make you appear more important than you really are."
He lurched forward but his blow slid through the flames now engulfing Kagami's head and neck.
A new level of frustration blistered within Aomine. One that sent a static charge of pain through him.
That smug condescending look through the receding yellow-orange flicker did nothing to calm him. The faint throbbing incurred from the impulsive punch went ignored.
As the last of the fire extinguished a black thread shot up Kagami's chest and coiled around his mouth. He squirmed in protest as Tetsu tightened the restraints.
The shadow stepped forward and laid a tight hand on Aomine's shoulder, prying with gentle force. He looked down to concerned eyes.
Dammit.
He hated that look.
"Aomine-kun, please take a breather. Run water over the wound, at least," Tetsu said.
He hesitated, his gaze flitting to Kagami's sour stare.
"Please." A swirl of self-loathing tamed his frayed nerves, over-stimulated from pain and anger.
"I'll be back in fifteen minutes."
Then he pivoted and left.
—
Kagami itched restlessly. The ache in his face hadn't subsided but he had to hand it to Aomine. For his ineptitude as an Apparition, the man possessed the physical strength to protect himself. Though not nearly enough, as Kuroko provided residual insurance.
It had been a good five minutes since the Neutral stalked off, body teetering between injury and consternation. He'd noticed it during his and Aomine's exchange. Those onyx eyes were riveted to him, ignoring everything else. But there was more.
Something that the shadow's intervention verified.
Aomine Daiki didn't know how to be angry.
Irate was one thing, which he'd intercepted from the first blow that graced his cheek. But the chaotic swarm of emotions that flooded the man's face as Kagami needled, prodded deep into guarded wounds, was something else entirely. And it struck him as odd.
First impressions told Kagami that Aomine was a calculated man. One who carried himself passively, disinterestedly. And their interaction within the holding cells displayed the anticipated primitive emotions that any Apparition would present. Apprehension, restraint, defiance. But as Kagami decided to knock the man off kilter, Aomine's face betrayed his body.
A flash of shock and twinge of hurt streaked his features at every reaction to Kagami's relentless offenses.
He captured the shadow's lingering gaze, the icy blue stare burning. Described accurately in the contract, the shorter man sported pale hair, skin, and eyes, and for just a brief moment Kagami chastised himself for not noticing him first.
"See something you like?" he taunted, allowing smugness to crook his mouth.
The shadow remained still.
Kagami sighed impatiently and squirmed to sit comfortably, finding the black fetters unrelenting. "Do you mind?"
"Not particularly."
"Well my ass is numb, so let up some." He doubted his complaints would merit clemency, but it wouldn't hurt to try.
"Why did you do that?" The man's brow pinched ever so slightly in disappointment and Kagami almost accepted the scolding with silence.
"He's a Neutral. I'm just breaking the news to him before I kill him." He looked down his nose to the shadow's sullen face. "You should thank me for it."
A faint touch brushed his ear and he jerked his head away. A black tendril whipped expectantly, poised to assault again. He shot a glare to the man.
"It's a birth defect." The hint of banality in his tone genuinely surprised Kagami and, despite the awaiting tendril, he sat straight.
Interesting.
For all his posturing, the shadow didn't seem to believe the ridiculous lie either. Kagami carefully weighed his options of harassing the man before speaking up, "Is it really?"
The man's jaw tightened and he broke eye contact as he slid to sit on the edge of the table. The dog stood and Kagami tensed until it seated itself at the man's feet. He watched as unreadable eyes seemed to search for a profound answer, brows knitting tight.
The silence was agonizing and Kagami couldn't waste time loitering until Aomine came back to disassemble his face.
So he decided to ask, "How are you even in his employ?" The shadow tilted his head, trapping his gaze but he didn't allow time to respond. "The Ice don't partner with the Shadow. Never have unless under a state of extreme duress. But that was before they screwed themselves out of the partnership."
Icy pools scoured the equipment laid meticulously on the table top. Agitation bowed Kagami's mouth. He couldn't be certain, but he entertained that the shadow was playing coy just to piss him off.
Then he caught the lingering stare on the kodachi and smirked.
"You tried to kill him."
Unexpectedly the shorter man whipped his head to face Kagami, eyes touched with guarded surprise. Which evolved into irritation just as quickly.
"So that's how it is." He couldn't help but chuckle, craning his head back satisfied. "You failed and got stuck being his babysitter."
Another airy touch tickled his neck and he squirmed. His belly and back were similarly assaulted. A dozen tube-like protrusions fanned his skin from the fetters, abusing him with aggravatingly breathy touches. The sensation was unwelcome and he writhed, cursing the multiple aggressors.
"What I did in the past is irrelevant. The real question is," the shadow slid off the table, the tendrils' attack continuing undaunted. The man reached for Kagami's folded pants and fussed through one pocket at a time. A content smile graced thin lips when the contract was brought into view. "Why does the crown prince of the Fire Apparitions possess contracts to terminate Neutrals? Especially level-one threats."
Kagami tousled with the black vines and clamped his teeth down on one wiggling beside his nose. Charcoal laced his tongue and he spat dejectedly. First and last time he would ever attempt that mistake. "What I do is my business," he said, resisting the urge to snap at a second tendril flicking at his neck.
"You never answered my question."
Kagami's temper flared and a mane of fire exploded from his skin, sizzling the offending vines to ash. To his dismay, the fetters remained intact. "Keep harassing me with these creepy shadows and I'll say even less."
Not that he was promising to disclose anything at all. But the man lessened up and finally Kagami adjusted, feeling an unsatisfying tingle invade his sore ass.
"Why did you insult Aomine-kun?" The shadow asked again, discarding the pants to the table in a heap. The paper remained tucked in a clenched hand.
Resignation threatened to claim Kagami's face but he inhaled deep and gestured to the sheet with a jerk of his head.
Wordlessly the man thumbed the manhandled sheet open. Eyes skimmed past the information and threaded along what Kagami knew were the list of signed names. The shadow turned the paper over, gaze streaming additional participants.
Then his face wrinkled with what appeared to be disgust but closer inspection suggested something else Kagami couldn't put his finger on.
"Five of these names are circled."
"That's right." Pride swelled deep within Kagami's chest, churning with the malice that those names evoked. "A-grade assassins from the Fire charter. All killed by Aomine."
The man peeked briefly over the top of the sheet and read aloud. "Hanamiya Makoto. Haizaki Shougo. Moriyama Yoshitaka. Mitobe Rinnosuke." Hesitation. "Kuroko Tetsuya. You expect to avenge all five of these men? You're a prince." The page was creased and tucked into the man's folded arms. "Stick to politics and leave this alone. For your own benefit."
What Kagami heard was an insult and he bristled. Bulbs of fire dotted his exposed skin.
"He's a serial killer. A nobody who somehow managed to kill five highly trained Shadow Apparitions with no Apparition power whatsoever. You've been under his boot for too long if you think the state of the world now is my fault."
"Killing Aomine-kun will tip the balance." An unprecedented volume assumed the man's voice. "And he taking your life will achieve no better a result."
Despite himself, Kagami sat stunned and the flares extinguished.
"So, I'm asking you one final time." The man slid his eyes closed and shouldered an unsteady breath. Sincere blue bored into him. "Please, placate Aomine-kun and never return here again."