A/N: Uhhh...right. *clears throat* So...I may have, uh, slacked with this story. I won't abandon it though, so no worries there. But uh, yeah. So this happened:
I had at least 4,000 words of this chapter completed, when the device that I use for this story crashed. Once I had it up and running, I checked to see if it saved but lo and behold, of course it didn't save. In fact, it deleted everything!
I kinda yelled to the skies about the unfairness of it all and might've scared a few neighbors, but after that I was left unmotivated. But, with school starting, I realized that I haven't even made one update for this story, so I decided I should at least post up one chapter before I get swamped with homework.
So yeah, here it is. Sorry and all, hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or any of its characters.
Kagami awoke feeling a bit groggy, but at the same time, completely filled with adrenaline. He almost thought he was back in L.A. He remembers waking up like this over there all the time. He had to have his guard up constantly or he would really be done for.
So when he awoke that morning with the same feeling, he couldn't help but instinctively jump out of his bed and land in a crouch on the floor. Or at least, he would have, if not for the blanket that had impeded his movements and ultimately caused him to land ungracefully in a heap on the floor.
"Urghh." Groaning, he stood up and soothed a bruise that was surely forming on his arm. He looked around and once he confirmed he was in his room and not in L. A., he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
Rubbing the remaining sleep out of his eyes, he wandered out the room while absentmindedly trying to remember his dream. He was sure that whatever dream he had was the cause for his state when he woke up. But the harder he tried to remember, the easier it was to forget. Figuring it was a lost cause, he shrugged and rummaged through his fridge.
It's been a few weeks since he's been back in his homeland. He still had no idea how he ended up here and had no idea as to how to get back. Don't get him wrong, he didn't mind this place. In fact, he liked it a lot. Here, he didn't have to sleep in a rundown alley, or steal food from random people like some street rat. Which he was, but not the point.
Also, glaringly unlike L. A., here he had, well, friends.
He had accepted it now. People cared about him and his well being. Some of said people were Kuroko and Aomine. Kuroko, he wasn't surprised to have befriended. After all, he was his best friend a few years ago. Gaining back that friendship wasn't much of a struggle. And he wouldn't say that he minded having him around so much. Kuroko practically visited him ever day and stayed whenever he could. It was a nice change of pace, having someone to share his lonely apartment with him every now and then.
Aomine, on the other hand, was a surprise. The older boy was an idiot, asshole, bastard, jerk, and any other words that shared the same meaning. Yet, asshole that he was, Kagami couldn't help but enjoy his time with him. Aomine didn't come over as much as Kuroko, but at least he met up with him outside of his apartment every now and then. The blue-haired boy claimed to never plan to purposely meet up with him. It was only a coincidence that they bumped into each other a lot, he said.
Of course, Kagami knew better. What he didn't know though, was if Aomine met up with him because he was bored out of his mind in school, or because he genuinely liked to spend time with Kagami. He liked to think that it was the latter. But of course, being the emotionally inept bastard that he was (conveniently forgetting he was also an emotionally constipated person), Aomine sure as hell didn't act like he enjoyed Kagami's company.
Sure, every now and then he laughed or grinned, but it was usually at Kagami's expense. He didn't mind that much, because he always got Aomine back one way or another. Still, the point was that he had found a friend within Aomine, but it wasn't the same friendship he had with Kuroko. It was...he didn't know how describe it. Because bickering and hitting each other really didn't constitute as friendship. More like rivalry. And he was okay with that, surprisingly.
Besides Aomine and Kuroko though, the Seirin guys crashed at his apartment a lot. They'd show up unexpectedly, demanding to be fed and then hang out at the courts. Kagami put up a fuss at first, not liking having his space invaded so suddenly. Eventually, he got used to it and to them. They weren't so bad, as it turned out. They were actually really friendly, but kinda weird. He didn't mind though, so he could see why he would befriend them when he got older.
Other than them, the other rainbow heads visited too. Not as much as Seirin, Aomine, and Kuroko, but enough times to remind him that they were still there and they were still crazy. Kise was annoyingly cheerful, always trying to glomp him and ruffling his hair and generally being a total fangirl. He said this to Kise's face one day and the only thing the blond had to say was, "At least I make a pretty girl, right Kagamicchi?"
Kagami didn't deem to answer that and simply ignored him, which Kise started wailing at, of course. Midorima and that Takao guy, he usually met up with at Maji Burger. Takao was a funny guy and Midorima was still a tsundere. He didn't get why the guy seemed to turn red whenever he asked about his horoscope or just generally inquire about anything.
Murasakibara and Akashi, they visited less frequently than anybody else. Reasonably, he supposed, because they lived outside of Tokyo. But when they did, Murasakibara never failed to try and pinch his cheek and that freaky Akashi guy always tried to get away with calling him by his first name. Eventually though, he got tired of denying him this and just let the guy do what he wanted.
In the end, it seemed he had a lot of friends. He was surprised to find that he actually liked having them. So when he woke up a few minutes ago, he really couldn't be faulted to have felt such relief to find himself in Tokyo and not in L. A. Who could blame him, really? He had everything he ever wanted here.
'Almost everything.'
That traitorous little thought popped into his head, completely unwanted but not totally unexpected.
It was true. Kagami may have everything he ever wanted, but one thing was glaringly missing. His mom.
He still didn't know how his mom had passed. He didn't have any confirmation as to how he knew this, but he just had this feeling that what he was assuming is correct. Kagami was living in an upscale apartment, and had a decent amount of friends. Yet, he couldn't be truly happy until he got some kind of closure.
Shaking his head, Kagami decided that he didn't want to think about that anymore. All these depressing thoughts were making him, well, depressed.
The red-head felt like leaving the apartment for a while. His thinking was making his apartment feel oppressive.
So without further ado, Kagami quickly went to the restroom to take a quick shower, put on fresh clothes―which still consisted of too big shorts and shirts (he really needed to do something about that)―and went off into the city.
Unbeknown to him though, he left behind his cell phone which had just received a message.
Today, Leo's rank the lowest. It is advisable to remain home and not go outside unless absolutely necessary. Your lucky item for today is a stuffed rat.
Kagami walked down the streets of Tokyo with no particular destination in mind.
He'd been walking for over an hour now, every now and then entering a store to observe ridiculously expensive items that he could never afford, and then subsequently get shooed out by a store clerk. Really, just because he looked like a homeless boy didn't mean he was going to steal anything. Not anymore, at least. There was no need for it anyway.
The young red-head got distracted out of his musings by loud shuffling and scuffing of shoes that came from the alley he was currently passing by. Cautiously peeking around the corner of the wall, Kagami took note of the scene that was occurring before him. Once he registered what was going on, he had to control himself from stomping down the alley and punching some faces in.
Kagami wasn't unfamiliar with scenes like these. He's seen them plenty of times before in L. A. That didn't make them any less rage inducing, though. Four men of various heights were surrounding a terrified looking girl. By the looks of her uniform, the red-head guesses that she's a student. Maybe a middle schooler.
Her age didn't matter though. What mattered was what was about to be done to her if he didn't interfere right now. Though, rushing in guns blazing wasn't the best idea, he knew that much. Those guys were taller than him and looked to be heavily muscled. Upon closer inspection, he barely caught the shine of light against metal.
'So they have blades too. Perfect.'
The girl started whimpering, the men's ugly sneers and reaching hands petrifying her.
Kagami grit his teeth but exhaled sharply. He had an idea. Edging as close as he could get without being spotted, Kagami took a deep breath and shouted, "Police, over here! This is where I saw those men surrounding the girl!"
Curses could be heard coming from the alley before the men made a run for it. Once they were gone, Kagami quickly approached the girl, who was now slumped against the wall in relief, and spoke up, "Are you alright? They're gone now, so you're safe."
The girl snapped her head up in apparent fear before what he said seem to register in her mind. She looked around her warily before settling her gaze back at him. She stared at him for a long moment, making Kagami fidget slightly, before she burst into tears and snatched him into a hug.
Surprised, Kagami tensed up at the unexpected contact, but refrained from automatically shoving her away. He was aware that she needed this, so reluctantly, he let himself be squeezed and cried on.
After a few minutes of sobbing and choked out thank you's, the girl finally seemed to collect herself and slowly pulled away. Kagami decisively ignored the stains on his shirt and simply carefully observed her. She had light brown hair that reached her shoulders, the color matching her eyes which were slightly red and swollen. She seemed to be several years older than him. Her skin was fair and she seemed to be a few inches taller than Kagami.
Taking a breath, the girl once more said, "T-thank you. I don't know what would have happened if nobody had seen me."
Kagami nodded, accepting her thanks. "It's alright. Anyone would have done what I did."
The girl smiled at him wearily, looking exhausted. They both straightened up and the girl tried to make herself look presentable.
Once done, she once again looked back at Kagami. "I'm Shinozaki Amaya."
"Kagami Taiga." They seemed to regard each other for a moment before Kagami deemed the moment too uncomfortable. "Anyway, you should probably go home. Avoid alleys if you can. See ya."
With that, the red-head made his way to the mouth of the alley, already almost out of sight before a frantic, "W-wait!" made him stop in his tracks. Shinozaki caught up to him before stopping and nervously fidgeting with the end of her skirt. She bit her lip before finally saying, "I'm really grateful for what you did. A-and I just wanted to say that, if you ever need anything, I'd be willing to help."
Kagami made a surprised noise before shaking his head negatively. "N-no! It's okay! I don't need you to pay me back or anything! It's fine." The red-head was flustered, his cheeks coloring slightly. Shinozaki giggled, finding his face really cute. Kagami's blush intensified before sputtering out nonsense. The only thing that did was make the girl laugh even more. The young boy had enough and turned around to stomp away.
"Wait! I'm sorry! I didn't mean any harm, you're just really cute!"
Kagami whiplashed. "Cute?!"
The girl nodded sagely before shoving her hand in her skirt pocket. She rummaged around until she pulled out a piece of paper and then got a pen from out of her backpack, which Kagami was barely noticing was there. She quickly wrote down her number before shoving the paper in Kagami's face.
"Here. If you ever need my help, call me."
Kagami opened his mouth to protest, but snapped it shut when she gave him big pleading eyes. Sighing, Kagami reluctantly took the piece of paper and shoved it in his shorts, ignoring the triumphant smile the girl gave him.
Shinozaki opened her mouth again, but unfortunately for her, and Kagami as well, they heard the unmistakable sounds of men arguing from down the alley.
"I'm telling you, there weren't any cops there. It was probably all just some gig to trick us."
"Damn it! If I ever find that little brat again, I'll wring their neck out!"
"Let it go. It's not like we ever even saw his face. We'll never know who it was."
"Who the fuck cares?! We finally had a treat in our grasp when―oh? What's this? Decided to stick around for more, cutie?"
Shinozaki's eyes widened in fear and Kagami urgently whispered to her to run and get away. She protested a bit, whispering that leaving him behind wasn't a good idea. She shut her mouth when he gave her a glare, telling her wordlessly to obey. She hesitantly nodded before hurriedly getting out of there.
"Hey babe! Where are you going? The fun hasn't even started yet!"
One of the men made to reach for her, but he didn't even get close to touching her. Kagami was already on the move and harshly pushed the man away, making the man stumble and collide against the wall.
All attention was on him now and Kagami felt an unfamiliar sense of dread wash over him. He didn't know why, he was involved in skirmishes like these all the time. So thoughtlessly shaking off the feeling, Kagami step forward and spoke, "Don't you guys dare chase after her."
The responding sneers were enough of an answer to tell him that they were unimpressed.
"Ha? What's a little twerp like you gonna do about it?" One of the men stepped forward, his greasy hair reflecting the sunlight coming from outside the alley.
Kagami took a deep breath before pulling his arm back and swinging his fist on to the crotch of the man. The embarrassingly high-pitched squeal was enough of a compensation for Kagami. The man fell to his side and clutched his damaged jewels while whimpering in pain.
The other men, outraged on their companions behalf, stalked forward. The redhead was going to make a run for it, but before he could move, a gritty hand reached out and dragged him deeper into the alley. With a grunt, Kagami was thrown against the surrounding wall. A sharp CRACK was heard as he made impact. He landed on the floor with a groan, the impact having had damaged his head.
Without wasting any time, Kagami shakily stood up and dazedly glared at them all. The men laughed in retaliation, completely disregarding him as a threat. He could see how they wouldn't take him seriously. He must've look a real mess, trembling and blood covering the side of his face. Well, no matter. He was going to show how much of a threat he really was.
Shaking off the blurriness of his vision and wiping off as much blood as he could, Kagami rushed at them, sloppily dodging a blow to his gut and responding by delivering a clumsy kick on the man's stomach. As clumsy as it was though, it did its job. The man fell to his knees, clutching his stomach.
Kagami felt a brief rush of victory before it was overshadowed by dread when he saw that the man stood up a second later, shaking off his kick like it was nothing. Getting angry, Kagami grit his teeth and recklessly launched forward again. Only this time he wasn't so lucky.
Before he could even reach his target, a kick to his side sent him skidding down the alley. Kagami coughed, blood spilling from his lips. He wheezed, trying to comprehend what just happened. He focused his blurry gaze on the person that had kicked him.
Of course. There wasn't just two or three guys. There were four.
He coughed again, this time hacking even more blood, coating his shirt in the red liquid. How did a kick even damage him this much? He looked at the men once more, taking note that they were getting closer, their malicious grins all he could make out of their faces. They were well muscled, and he noticed that the guy that had kicked him was wearing steel-toed boots.
'Well that explains it. It also doesn't hurt that he's built like a truck.'
Sluggishly, Kagami stood up, his chest heaving and his ribs aching. He must've cracked a few, then. He turned to face them, his mind trying to work something out, but coming up blank.
Distractedly, he noticed that one of the men was pulling out something from his pocket. Once it was out and clear to see, Kagami cursed under his breath. Knives. He forgot about the god damned knives.
'Shit, this isn't good...'
He couldn't take them, not like this. He needed to get away. Now.
Kagami turned, limping away as fast as was possible in his condition. The mocking laughter of the men chased after him, making him aware that he was in deep trouble.
'I really might die right here.'
That though filled him with fear. He didn't want to die. He really didn't want to die. He had friends now! He couldn't die!
Desperate now, Kagami fastened his pace, disregarding the aching of his ribs and his disappearing vision. He didn't make it far before he was pushed down to the floor. His chin slammed against the alley's dirty floor, cutting it open and adding a new wound to his self. He flipped himself so that he was on his back, any thought of getting back up being shoved out of his mind when his body refused to move.
'Damn it! Move!'
Despite his demand, his body didn't respond. It was either too injured to move, or too scared to even try. Kagami didn't feel any shame when he admitted it was most likely the latter. Still not giving up though, Kagami crawled in a crab walk, only gaining a few pathetic inches of distance.
Cursing, Kagami harshly let his body weight fall on his elbows, supporting him from completely falling back. The men were within kicking distance now, completely surrounding him. The one with the knife was directly facing him, his fiendish grin sending cold shivers down Kagami's spine.
The man slowly inched the knife closer to Kagami, and suddenly his body forgot how to breathe. Kagami froze, not daring to move. With widening eyes and muddled vision, the red-head fearfully observed as the weapon got closer and closer to his person.
'I...'
The knife was closing in on his face.
'...don't want...'
It was so close now he could feel the sharp tip prickling his cheek.
'...to DIE!'
With a shout that sounded like it originated from a cornered animal, Kagami, with a final burst of adrenaline, smashed his fist as hard as he could against the fiend's face. He felt the bones giving in beneath his fist, the scream of pain bitterly satisfying to him. Retracting his fist, Kagami stumbled to his feet and took the opportunity to run as fast as possible.
His injuries no longer mattered. The concern for his fading eyesight was thrown out the window. His throbbing fist was a matter of inconsequence. The blood flowing freely down his face wasn't even registered. All he could think of was getting out of here, any other thought being suppressed by the sheer desperation and fear he was experiencing.
'Run. Run. Runrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrun RUN!'
He kept on running, not knowing where he was going but not caring in the slightest. He didn't even notice when he couldn't hear footsteps following him anymore. All he cared to think about was to keep on going and to not stop.
So he ran.
And he kept on running until his body collapsed in the middle of a sidewalk. Kagami panted heavily, greedily sucking in as much oxygen as he could. His vision was basically nonexistent now. Slowly, his adrenaline faded, all his aches and wounds suddenly flaring up. He grunted, the pain being a bit too much. He laid still decided to wait it out.
Kagami didn't know how long he laid there, bleeding out on the pavement and his body steadily becoming numb.
'Heh. At least I got away...'
Although, that didn't seem to be saving him any grief. He was still injured and still bleeding. He was probably dying anyway.
'Damn it...and all the trouble I went through...'
Shinozaki flashed through his mind. Good thing she at least was safe. He hoped. It would really suck if she decided to get cornered again and completely disregard Kagami's warning to stay away from alleys.
'Hey wait a minute...'
His sluggish mind was slowly dredging up a forgotten memory.
'I remember my dream now.'
It wasn't really a dream. It was something that had happened to him in the past.
'I was...being chased my some guys down an alley. And they beat up real bad once they caught me… Just like right now. It took forever to recover from those injuries.'
Letting out a painful sounding chuckle, Kagami found a bit of humor in this situation. It was kinda ironic, dreaming about that and then having the same thing happen to him again. The redhead chuckled a bit more, but the sound was cut off with a violent torrent of coughs. Once he finished, Kagami breathed deeply and turned on his side to spill out some blood from his mouth.
He wondered where the people were. How come no one was stopping to help him? He looked around himself and saw he ended next to an empty park. It was just his luck that nobody was around.
With a sigh, he laid back down. He dazedly thought of how Kuroko was going to react once he saw him like this. He'll probably freak out and mother hen him all the time. That Ahomine will probably just call him a wuss or something and make fun of him for letting himself get beat up.
"S'not my fault...stupid...aho...mine," he mumbled out.
Everything was fading. His breathing was slowing down and his speech was suffering. Still, he kept on talking to himself.
"That idiot...he prob'ly couldn't even take 'em like I could..."
Slowly, his world faded. And only darkness greeted him. At last, he was getting some relief. He was drifting off, already on the verge of unconsciousness.
"KAGAMICCHI!"
His last fleeting thought was that he must really be out of it to be hallucinating Kise right now.
Then everything went dark.
