Wow, it' almost been a month...I'm sincerely sorry about the very late update but school has been driving me crazy. In addition I had absolutely so idea where to take this story towards the middle of this chapter. Well, this is what I came up with after a while...I hope I'm not taking the story into the wrong direction...Since people have been asking for AkaKuro so I put a snippet of it at the very end(although you might end up hating me for it). Many thanks for the follows, favs, and lovely reviews! I was ecstatic when I hit 100 followers so I just put that energy towards brainstorming ^.^ Enough with babbling and on to the story~
Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi. I only own this story line and any OC.
Edited:11/11/13
Okay now it's really on to the story~
"TAMI-CHAAAAAAAAAAN!" He launched himself at the girl and lifted her up into a bear hug. "Welcome home!"
Kuroko smiled as she was enveloped with the familiar warmth and smelled the faint scent of sunshine and grass as she buried her head into the crook of his neck. "I'm back, Shige-kun."
The brunette finally put her down and looked her over, frowning when he saw Kuroko's shoulder twitching slightly from pain. "What happened?" he asked, worry evident in his voice.
"It's nothing, just a little injury when we got into a fight."
"Define 'we'," a deep scowl now etched onto his face.
Tamiko glanced to the right, not meeting his eyes, like a child getting scolded by his mother. "…the others against Haizaki," she mumbled.
"They we all there and they let you get hurt?!" he growled.
"Shige-kun, don't worry about this anymore. You know I'm bound to get hurt doing what I do, beside we have other matters to deal with," she said firmly.
He sighed and gave up reluctantly, closing his eyes as he did so. His eyebrows slowly smoothed out, and when he opened his eyes again it was cold and serious. In an instant he had turned from an overprotective brother to one of Seiren's top soldiers. He didn't beat around the bush and bluntly said, "Since you've left a week ago, there's been suspicious activities in town. Koganei and Mitobe's been busy investigating and they found out that the citizens are in a panic because people have been disappearing. It started soon after you left and the people disappearing are increasing day by day. We've tried capturing the kidnapper but he's an expert at escaping. When we did manage to corner him, Hyuga and Kiyoshi were barely able to hold their ground against him."
Tamiko narrowed her eyes, "It's only one person causing this chaos?"
"Yes."
'This is bad; Hyuga and Kiyoshi is one of our best duo combos and even they couldn't take down this person…I'll have to look into it.' "Have you gotten any leads on this person?"
"No, only that he always heads to the northern forest but we always lose track of him."
"Where are the others?"
"They're all patrolling around the city, looking for the kidnapper and protecting the people to the best of their abilities. With the Black Knights out and about, the people feel a sense of security but they've been getting fidgety since the intruder still hasn't been captured."
Kuroko nodded as she mumbled to herself, "But why Seiren…"
"Oh, it's not only us. All the others have been attacked too with the exception of the Generation of Miracles."
The bluenette widened her eyes.
"Whoever we're dealing with, we definitely can't underestimate them."
"Of course," Tamiko's eyes glazed over coldly. "Akashi-kun will take the necessary measures soon. But I wonder why it took so long for the news to reach us." Her intuition warned her that things weren't as simple as they seemed and that this was only the beginning. Whoever the enemy was, they were either extremely foolish or suicidal for attacking Teikou so casually and openly. There's no doubt that Akashi will enjoy dissecting them slowly, being the sadist he was. It'll take him about two days to send troops over but Kuroko didn't have that much time to spare. Her people who she saw as a second family, was slowly disappearing and she intended to do something about it, not sit still and wait for Akashi obediently. 'I wonder how Seiho, Senshinkan, and Meikou are holding up. They're the strongest by far out of the smaller countries…There definitely isn't enough time to hold a conference, we just have to hope for the best for each other.'
"Ogiwara-kun, tell the Black Knights to assemble in the strategy room immediately."
"Yes, Kuroko-sama." He bowed and hurried off to complete his assignment. Kuroko frowned at his overly polite speech but knew it was to maintain a certain order in the palace. She sighed and strolled to the meeting place, the gears in her head turning.
Who are the Black Knights? They are the group of elites that pulled Seiren out of its crisis years ago, who continues to protect the country to this day. Five years ago when the group was formed there were only seven members, but it now has ten.
Aida Riko, the core and strategist of the group. A demon disguised as an angel who put the others through rigorous training to become the skilled fighters they are. She may be a bit extreme at times but she's reliable. She has the ability to see someone's strengths and weaknesses when she looks at their body, putting her in an extreme advantage when making tactics. A first class fighter who prefers hand to hand combat and often stirs up deadly concoctions when 'cooking' makes her respected and feared in the group. Making her your enemy is not a wise choice unless you want to be beaten to a pulp, especially if you comment on her childish figure.
Next is Hyuga Junpei, the short tempered captain and the mental support of the group. He's usually calm and the one people go to in times of trouble but beware if you rub him the wrong way like his partner usually does. His personality will instantaneously change and he'll become loud and demanding. This usually happens when they're in a pinch and his abilities will improve drastically, never missing his opponent with his sharp strikes. He has a love-hate relationship with his partner that's rooted from their past. His style focuses on mainly offense, waiting for an opening and then striking, like a snake.
Kiyoshi Teppei is Hyuga's trusted partner. He is the founder of the group and was originally supposed to be captain but declined the offer, thinking Hyuga was more suited for the position. He is the emotional support of the group who keeps them going no matter how hopeless the situation is. He has a cheery disposition and a grin that you can't help smiling back at. He's a well rounded fighter, with both a strong offense and defense. His abilities make him almost on par with the Generation of Miracles but unfortunately he's still a step behind. He's nicknamed Iron Heart and is one of the uncrowned kings.
Izuki Shun along with Kiyoshi and Koganei, brightens up the atmosphere surrounding the group with his lovable yet annoying personality. He's a strategist, but only for himself since he plans his tactics on the spot. Possessing the 'Eagle Eye' he can mentally switch his perspective to whichever way he wants. His fighting style is heavy on defense and then switches to offense. He observes his opponents to grasp their style to spot their openings and weak spots. He then whips up an effective way to counter them in mere seconds. His style can be risky but he has the abilities to back it up so he can take care of himself.
Reserved and whose voice has never been heard, Mitobe Rinnosuke. He 'speaks' with the other members with nods or hand gestures and the only one who can 'hear' him is Koganei, who often translates for him. His style focuses heavily on defense, so he fights with a long spear and daggers.
Koganei Shinji has an energetic personality, which when put together with Kiyoshi and Izuki's, drives the captain crazy. He's often paired up with Mitobe on missions, not that he minds, since he's the only one who can understand him. He can wield most weapons which makes him a dangerous opponent since he can attack from any range although his accuracy is at most, average. His style is well balanced, with an equal amount of offense and defense.
Tsuchida Satoshi is the final member of the original group. He is quiet, but not as much as Mitobe. Like Koganei, his style is balanced but he strikes aggressively when his opponent makes a wrong move.
Kuroko Tamiko joined the group a year after it was formed, adding immense firepower to the group. She helped the others execute the plan and dug Seiren out of the hole that it had put itself in to restore order. Elected as ruler by the other members when they saw her potential and with the approval of the citizens, she became queen of Seiren. She serves as the general and strategist along with Riko.
Ogiwara Shigehiro is Kuroko's adopted brother. He loves to eat and has a cheerful disposition. Finding his love and passion for fighting from his sister, he quickly excelled in it and joined the group along with her. His fighting has a base of solid fundamentals from his endless practice, making his offense and defense stronger than the average person's. He usually fights with a sword but sometimes uses a spear.
Lastly is Kagami Taiga who recently joined a year ago. He moved to Seiren from across seas. Along with Kuroko they are the physical support that holds up the group. Although he can be hot-headed, short tempered and brash, with a little scolding from Kuroko he can be very reliable at times of need. His fighting style is mostly, if not all offense. He goes at his opponents head on with his incredible strength and agility. He often dives into a fight without thinking of the consequences first. Fighting with his heart rather than his mind is what captured Kuroko's attention in the first place to requite him into the group.
As a whole, the Black Knights are a deadly force to be feared. Many other countries never expected a small country like Seiren to have such a strong elite team, which ends up being the reason for their own downfall and defeat. Nobody suspected Tamiko to be the phantom however, because the sixth person didn't exist yet.
"Akashi? What did you see?" Midorima asked, his voice laced with concern. It was rare for the greenette to express his feelings so openly but this was an exception because the Akashi Seijurou who always wore a composed mask looked absolutely horrified. The others watched as his expression turned into a calculating one as he glared at the corpse of the attacker. His face finally relaxed into a calm and collected state as he met the eyes of his friends. "Excuse me, it seems I overreacted a bit."
"About what Aka-chin?"
The red head cleared his throat and he said in a cold voice, "He wasn't lying."
A suffocating atmosphere surrounded them as they collectively remembered what he had said, "…we know who the phantom is and they're on our side."
A sinking feeling filled their hearts as they all, with the exception of the Kise, remembered that day three years ago. They all doubted the bluenette a little with what happened back then but they had managed to push it to the back of their minds. They convinced themselves that it was an illusion and even ended up falling in love with her one by one. They believed that their relationship was genuine, fixed, but what if it wasn't whole in the first place? Without having a solid foundation wouldn't it someday crumble? Before they can ponder about it anymore, the silence was broken by a certain blond.
"That's impossible! Kurokochi would never betray us," Kise demanded. He glanced around at the others, confused and mad that he saw uncertainty and doubt in their eyes. "Although I just met her I could already tell that she values her friends a lot and would never turn her back on them."
Ah, that's right. What were they doing? Doubting their beloved phantom because of a stupid bluff and letting a newbie reassure them with a few simple words. Kuroko Tamiko wasn't that type of person. It went against her morals and principles. She fights for what she believes in and has endless perseverance. She would never betray her friends, it was a solid fact that they all knew.
"For once, Ryouta's right." The said person pouted but didn't interrupt the red head. "It doesn't make any sense. If Tamiko truly allied with the enemy then why would they blow her cover? This is obviously a bluff even though he wasn't lying."
"Hah? How'd that possible?" Aomine asked.
"His higher-ups could've lied to him, making him believe that they really did know the phantom's identity when in reality they're just trying to unnerve us."
Midorima nodded with a thoughtful expression. "Since they knew our faces, there's a high possibility it was royalty."
"No, I'm certain it is." Met with questioning looks the red-head added, "Intuition and I'm always right."
"Wait, but what if someone saw Kurokochi with us, like in town just now? Wouldn't they automatically think that she's the phantom?"
Everyone stared blankly at him, waiting for the idiot to understand. Kise blinked owlishly and said, "What?"
"Kise-chin, you're so slow," Murasakibara sighed.
"Did you forget people usually can't see her, stupid?!" Aomine scoffed.
"Oh, how come you guys can then?"
"It took us a full month to get use to her weak presence. We can see her most of the time, but she slips by sometimes," Momoi explained helpfully.
Kise nodded in understanding before looking back at the fallen attacker anxiously.
"Oi, you don't have to worry about him. It's probably some idiot with a loud bark and no bite."
"But don't you find it weird that this happened at the same time there's something going on in Seiren," Midorima asked while pushing up his glasses.
"There's something weird going on…" Momoi muttered.
"Let's head back before discussing this further," Akashi commanded, leaping up onto his horse. "We should send troops to Seiren for backup as soon as possible to check up on what's happening."
"Hai!" the others simultaneously responded.
They usually didn't have to worry about Kuroko since she can handle most situations herself but their heads spun from unease this time.
"Is he up yet?"
"No, but it should almost be time."
"You remember what we have to do right?"
"Of course, besides it's not like it's a lot since he set everything up already." They both grinned manically as they recalled their last conversation with him.
"What's the next step?"
A dark chuckle resounded through the throne room as he leered down at his subordinate. "You don't have to worry about that because we just have to let everything play out."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"Hmm, just let those idiots do the work as they play into my palms."
They shivered at the calculating and amused look on the other's face.
"Shall I tell you exactly what's going to happen?" he smirked.
Arriving at Touou castle, they were met with a panting Hayama Kotaro who had just arrived moments before. Mibuchi and Nebuya stood beside him with worried expressions.
"Kotaro? Why are you here?" Akashi asked, jumping off his horse. He had sent him as a representative for negotiations with the neighboring continent in the east. According to his calculations he shouldn't be back until the day after tomorrow, yet here he was, looking as if he just ran a marathon. Regaining his composure and finally catching his breath he started his report. "Akashi-sama, the negotiations with Kinga in Kamata has gone as planned but I rushed back after hearing alarming news when I was passing through Seiho and Senshinkan."
"First Hayama Kotaro will warn Akashi about the kidnappings in the other countries."
"People are disappearing and from what I've heard, it isn't only Seiho and Senshinkan. I believe all the smaller countries are facing the same dilemma."
Akashi's eyes narrowed, "How long has this been happening?"
"A week."
Now he was certain, there was definitely someone interfering to make sure the news didn't reach him for as long as possible. "How severe is it?"
"I estimate about a hundred people from each country but the kidnappings are occurring more and more frequently by the day. In addition the kidnappers are highly skilled and have yet to be captured."
The other countries were by no means weak and if they were having so much trouble catching them then how with Seiren hold out?
"Then Akashi will send troops out reluctantly since he can't personally see to his phantom's safety."
Akashi hated that he couldn't be by Kuroko's side to personally assist her since he had other responsibilities, which included maintaining his vast empire. He gritted his teeth slightly and then fired out orders. "Daiki, Shintarou, and Atsushi head back to your individual kingdoms immediately and send out troops to help. Ryouta, go back to Kaijo and make sure there's no suspicious activity. They seem to be targeting the weaker countries and Kaijo's not in the best condition right now so it will probably be the next target. Kotaro and Eikichi, look around in Kamata and Kamakura for any suspicious movements. Reo send out the second and third squads."
Everyone gulped as they saw Akashi's eyes glaze over coldly like a dangerous animal's. You want a fight? You've got one, and you're sadly mistaken if you think you can come out sane.
Groooooowl
"Kagami, you're too loud."
"Sorry, it's not like I could control my stomach," he retorted, "I haven't eaten since early afternoon."
The brunette sighed and turned back around to watch for the signal.
"Are they coming yet?"
"No, but they should be soon. He always attacks around this time."
It's currently eleven at night and one could find Kagami and Ogiwara in the northern forest of Seiren. At a strategy meeting earlier that day, Kuroko and Riko established their plan quickly so that they could execute it on the same day. Kuroko, Hyuga, Kiyoshi, Izuki, Mitobe, Koganei, and Tsuchida were stationed throughout town. Whoever sees the criminal first would signal the others closest to them for assist. They were to force them to enter the forest from the east, where Kagami and Ogiwara were waiting. This plan relies heavily on the bluenette since her observation skills are by far the best in the group. For the past few days, the others noticed that the attacker aims for the town square where there were the most people. It seems as if he liked announcing his presence and terrorizing the people as he picked his next victim. With the high probability that he would show up there again, Tamiko was stationed there.
Kuroko was situated behind a small house where she could see the town square. People were packing up their goods and stalls furiously, trying to get to the safety of their houses before he appeared. Business was always the best in the late evening when people went shopping after a day of work but less and less people were willing to take the risk as fear overtook their senses. Kuroko kept a watchful eye on the townspeople as she remembered what Riko had said before.
"If possible prevent him from taking someone so that they won't get involved in the fight. If he does though, we know for certain that he'll head to where the rest of the hostages are. He'll go into the forest like always but lead him to the east. Kagami and Ogiwara will be there for immediate assist if the others can't catch up in time. As soon as you're about a few hundred feet in, make it seem like you lost track of him. Well, you don't really need to try since people can't sense your presence anyways…"
Just as she was getting impatient Kuroko spotted a dark silhouette lurking around the alley by a stall where a young boy was helping his parents clean up. Certain that this was the person who was causing trouble recently, she swiftly made her way over. She broke into a run when the person grabbed the boy from behind, hand over his mouth. Furious, Tamiko promptly slashed the intruder's arm and legs. He let out a surprised grunt and released his grip on the boy. Regaining his composure surprisingly fast, he equipped himself with a knife as he whipped around to face his opponent. Bewildered that he found no one there, he started to turn around when a dagger sliced through the air, cutting his cheek. Growling, he took a slash at the empty space. Blinking several times after seeing no one again, he nearly had a heart attack when he met a pair of cold blue eyes. As much as Kuroko wanted to kill him on the spot, she restrained herself since her first priority was to get him to lead her to where the hostages were. As soon as he finally noticed her she ducked to the right and slashed at his leg but he jumped up effortlessly to avoid the attack. He switched to a long sword like Kuroko and started to swiping and jabbing at her to no avail. She smoothly avoided his wicked sword while continuously throwing small daggers at him with her left hand. Annoyed that his victim got away and this pest was taking up so much of his time, he smirked and dashed towards the forest where he knew she would lose track of him. He ignored the throbbing in his leg and when he glanced back expecting the mysterious girl to be no where in sight, he was shocked to find that she seemed to be keeping up with him in ease.
Tamiko's eyes glinted mischievously as she wasn't even running at half of the speed she could. She kept her eyes locked onto her target, refusing to lose sight of him. Kuroko leaped up onto the rooftops of the houses after the kidnapper just as she caught sight of two silhouettes running a little ways behind her from the corner of her eye. 'Good, they saw the signal.' Shortly after she started running after the intruder, she had set off a special flare to alert the others. It was a small piece of mineral called Tynzrite that was only found in the soil in Seiren. It was highly combustible and when set aflame would burn out quickly. The bright flame that lasted for a few seconds was enough to signal the others when Tamiko threw it up high above her. Sparing another glance at her companions, she recognized them to be Hyuga and Mitobe from their physiques. They flanked her on either side and started to close in on their target. Kuroko, being the quickest went to the left so that she could force the intruder to go to the east as she pressured him. Hyuga and Mitobe did their best to support her and they knew that they succeeded when they approached the forest where they knew Kagami and Ogiwara were. Kuroko sent out another signal to warn the two in the woods. As soon as they dove into the darkness of the forest, Kagami and Ogiwara joined them to chase after him. A few minutes in they slowed down and turned to Kuroko, waiting for her to lead. She gave them a silent nod, which they knew meant that she had done her job of injuring him enough that he would have to slow down sooner or later before he reached his hideout that they knew was deep inside the forest. Everyone muted their footsteps to the best of their abilities as they swiftly followed Kuroko who was the only one who could still see the kidnapper making his way through the dense woods.
He slowed down to a jog, thinking he had lost them like usual. He was in pain from the injuries inflicted by Kuroko but knew he couldn't leave the hostages unattended to in case they stirred up trouble so he forced himself to continue his way to the hideout. After a few miles of trekking through the forest, with only the moonlight to light up the path a bit, he sighed in relief when his camp came in sight. That was when he stiffened from the sudden feeling of cold metal against his neck.
"Move a single muscle and you'll be dead." Few things scared him but this monotone voice sent dread throughout his body as he forced himself to obey her orders. Wait, her? That was when he caught sight of a familiar shade of blue hair from the corner of his eye and realized in shock that it was the same girl as before. She glared at him with menace in her eyes as she gave orders, eyes never leaving him.
"Ogiwara, check for any other immediate dangers in case he has companions. If the coast is clear, secure the safety of the hostages with Kagami." They nodded and hurried off to complete their tasks. He widened his eyes in shock when he recognized their names. According to his superior, Kagami Taiga was second in command after the queen and Ogiwara Shigehiro was one of the elite's part of the Black Knights. If they're obeying this girl that held him at knife point then she must be the queen. His comrades informed him earlier today that the ruler of Seiren is the phantom of the Generation of Miracles. Although he knew he would come face to face with the phantom eventually, he was still astonished that it was actually a girl. 'So it's you huh?'
"Once we find out the identity of the phantom you can release the hostages from all the countries except his. The others aren't needed; I only require the phantom to win the upcoming war.
"Wait, then why did we attack the other countries if we're going to release all the hostages anyways?"
His companion smacked him across the head while their superior watched with an amused expression. "Isn't it obvious? It's so that the Generation of Miracles won't suspect that we know who the phantom is, or will anyways. Plus it'll be a bigger distraction."
"But didn't we send someone to tell them that we do know who the phantom is?"
His superior chuckled, the sound echoing around the room. "I felt like playing with them a bit. They can even call it a favor since I gave them such a nice warning but I'm sure they won't believe us."
The two gulped, reminding themselves never to make him their enemy.
Even though he was a bit frightened, his curiosity got the better of him. He managed to muster up his last bit of courage and said, "B-but sir, how'll we get to talk to the phantom and convince him to side with us?"
The king grinned as he tapped a steady rhythm on the arm of his chair. "As a first class fighter we know that he'll lead the expedition to eliminate the kidnapper. An opportunity to talk to him will present itself when he captures and interrogates our comrade."
"Ne, why are you siding with the Generation of Miracles?" Tamiko narrowed her eyes in fury. She swiped his legs out from under him and twisted his arms to the back, bringing her knife to his throat again. She was supposed to be the one with the questions, not him.
"Because they're better than scum like you," she growled as she dug her knee into his calf, pinning him down.
After hissing in pain, he started chuckling manically. "Really? Doesn't it hurt your pride that you have to depend on them? Don't you want the power to rise above them?"
Getting annoyed, Tamiko pushed her knife harder against his throat, a thin stream of blood flowing down to his collarbone.
He cringed in pain but forced himself to continue as he rasped out, "You should stop lying to yourself. I know that you hate the Generation of Miracles from the bottom of your heart."
"I have no reason to hate them. They haven't harmed my people like certain people," Tamiko said darkly.
"Hmph, this? It was just to show you our power; after all it's more effective to show you the extent of our power than for you to listen to me ramble on. This way you can't deny the truth, we are strong enough to overthrow the Generation of Miracles." 'When we have you in our grasp that is…'
"That's just your silly delusion; no one is strong enough to even present them a challenge."
"Heh, did you forget about the crownless generals? They give them a hard enough time and Kiyoshi Teppei wasn't even strong enough to give me a scratch."
Tamiko gritted her teeth,unable to deny what he just said.
"Rouse his curiosity…"
He continued with a smirk plastered on his face. "What if there was a whole army of soldiers like me who are on par with the crownless generals?"
Tamiko widened her eyes in horror. "T-that's impossible."
He grinned at the hesitance in her voice knowing she was starting to fall for his lies. 'Just a little more…' "You can deny all you want but it's the truth. You can either stick to the Generation of Miracles and be on the losing side or join me to rise in glory."
"…that way he'll pretend to side with us to attain more information."
Tamiko has no intention of going against her friends but if she could find out more information… "Who exactly am I joining?"
"And bring him to the meeting place."
"Hmm, so you've changed your mind?"
Tamiko gulped as she tried to sound as convincing as possible. She knew it wasn't right, but she let her memories from three years ago flash behind her eyes to produce pure hate and disgust in her voice. Her heart throbbed with pain as she remembered those painful times and she spoke her true feelings from then. "What are you talking about? They turned out to be the type of people I hate the most. I'm disappointed that I used to look up to them in the past."
He smiled in triumph; as always his predictions were always spot on. Confused at the sincerity in her voice his thoughts wandered off. 'You may be pretending but you sound so genuine; I wonder if you really do hate them… But either way the phantom is now caught in the trap.' He snapped back to reality when her cold voice sent shivers down his back.
"I want nothing to do with them. I hate them."
"Kurokochi would never betray us."
It went against her morals and principles. She fights for what she believes in and has endless perseverance. She would never betray her friends, it was a solid fact that they all knew. But…was that really the case? How much did they really know? They only had a glimpse of who she really was. They didn't know anything about her. Her private life was shrouded in mystery and she never uttered a word about her past from before she met them. Aomine and Momoi may have provided some insight since they were childhood friends but according to them, Kuroko from the past and the Kuroko now seems like two completely different people. What happened those few years?
Why won't you open up to us?
"…she values her friends a lot and would never turn her back on them."
Aren't we friends? Wait, were we friends to begin with? That was what was on the surface but no one questioned how deep their relationship really was because they were scared to find out the truth.
"I'm happy with what I have right now."
'Tamiko you liar…' Akashi leaned against a tree that was a few feet away from his beloved bluenette, hidden from view where he heard the whole conversation. Anger and sadness flickered in his eyes as tears dripped down his face.
The seed of doubt was planted three years ago and it has finally seen the light, sprouting slowly but surely.
*The person who is detailing the plans in italicized font refers to Kuroko as a male because he didn't know that the phantom was a girl yet.
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