Betrayal In Its Most Simplest Form

Chapter 9

Kuroko leaned against the headboard. Now that his back was starting to heal, he didn't the need the ridiculous amount of pillows to support him. In fact, all of his injuries were healing nicely. He did not need bandages around his head anymore, nor on his legs, but he still limped every time he walked (Akashi noticed this when he caught Kuroko, once again, trying to get out of bed).

A fat book lied on the small teen's lap. It rambled in small letters about Japan's geography. Kuroko tried to read the first paragraph, and then stopped halfway. It was the only book that looked interesting, and since geography was one of his best subjects, he thought he would understand it a bit more than the other advanced college books Akashi mysteriously owned.

"Tetsuya."

At the sound of his name, Kuroko snapped his head up. Akashi raised an eyebrow at the dark circles seen under the blank, blue eyes. The night Ibuki called her son, Kuroko woke up every once in a while with a nightmare. Akashi had slept beside him, knowing this would happen, and eased the boy back to sleep when it did. However, the circles under the hetero eyes weren't as obvious.

"Come with me," Akashi beckoned.

Kuroko leaned forward. "I can get out of bed?"

The red-head threw him an amused glance. "Yes, you can get out of bed."

Once the spoken permission was given, Kuroko was struggling to swing his legs over the edge to stand. He did this process a little too fast, though. His legs tangled with the blankets, Kuroko tried to stand but stumbled and almost hit the floor. If it wasn't for Akashi, he knew his face would be smashed against the carpet by now.

"Careful," Akashi said. "This was the reason why I had you stay in bed." His strong arms easily steadied the light-weight boy.

"Thank you," Kuroko said quietly and stepped out of Akashi's arms. He wanted to show he was not that dependent.

The former captain studied Kuroko for a few seconds. "Hm," he replied. "I did not have you come out of bed for no reason. Come with me; I want to show you something." He didn't wait for an answer and started out the bedroom door.

Curious, Kuroko limped after him. It felt good to walk more than a few steps without being 'caught'. Upon entering the living room, Kuroko's blue eyebrows flew up a few centimeters. The dining table was gone, and the two couches that had originally formed an "L" were pushed off to the side. Replacing the space, blue mats covered the floor. Some cushions were placed right outside the borders of the blue mats.

"What is this, Akashi-kun?"

"It's simply for your safety," Akashi said bluntly. He unzipped his jacket and took it off. A white, loose shirt hung from his body. Kuroko noticed he was also wearing comfortable sweats, which was unusual because the Generation of Miracles have only seen Akashi in either casual yet on the edge of formal outfits, his school uniform, or his basketball uniform. Even when he's sleeping, none of the members see him in anything else. "Take off your jacket."

Kuroko complied, bewildered at the situation. What were they going to do?

"You will be leaving my home the day after tomorrow," Akashi informed as he casually took off his socks. "Not only is the school anxious at your absence, but your mother," Kuroko shivered, "will start taking action if you are here too long for a simple project." He placed his socks on the floor and stepped onto the blue mats, facing Kuroko. "Your father will not always be there to protect you, and you cannot always run away with severe injuries. You also cannot prevent the surely upcoming wounds your mother will inflict." Kuroko flinched and looked down. "However, you can lessen the severity and quantity of those wounds." Akashi stepped back some steps. "Come at me, Tetsuya."

Kuroko blinked at the words. "E-excuse me, Akashi-kun?"

"Come at me," Akashi repeated. "Come as if you want to hurt me."

"But, I can't," he said blankly.

Akashi's eyes turned cold. "Yes, you can. This is an order; attack me."

Having no choice, Kuroko tentatively came at Akashi. He pulled his fist back and weakly swung at the red-head, knowing it wouldn't hurt him even if it struck. Akashi grabbed his pale wrist though and twisted it. Kuroko's arm was forced to obey the unnatural way of twisting and soon, his wrist was against the middle of his back. The way Akashi pushed on his joints made his body fall forward to his knees.

Akashi did this gently, knowing his injuries were still healing, but with enough strength to bring him down. The second Kuroko was on the ground, he released him. "It would take a grown man down if you pushed on his joints like that," Akashi commented. He helped Kuroko stand up. "I studied Martial Arts when I visited America years ago. My father also taught me Aikido at a young age."Akashi rolled his pants up to shin length. "I am not sure how much I can teach you in a day or two, but it should be enough for you to defend yourself." The red-head straightened, and a sadistic gleam glinted in his eyes. "Sate, come Tetsuya."

~Setting Skip~

Kuroko Ibuki sat behind her desk on a large, black chair. Engraved on a gold name tag, it read: Abe Miku. "Family" pictures sat on her desk for a good image. Whenever she had guests, the family pictures would immediately make them judge she was a good person. It was very easy to manipulate people.

Her face twisted into something disgusting at the thought of her Kuroko. Oh, how she wished to ruin that boy's innocence. Since she first laid eyes on her son, she detested him. Those large, blank eyes threw her off. Men had it so easy. What do the women get? Ridicules and laughs? A mop and a bucket? A scoff and an insult? It was degrading. But she had changed that. She was now one of the most influencing women in Japan, owning three large incorporations, having connections deeper than the government itself, and bypassing laws that couldn't even touch her.

Yet her son would not completely break. No matter how many times Ibuki had crushed him, insulted him, temporarily broke his spirit, someone always brought him back up. Someone always healed him. Her son's lack of presence, as well! She loathed him for that. Everyone who "cherished him", including his stupid father, could detect Kuroko with some effort. But she couldn't even see him unless his guard was down. It was as if he thought she wasn't worth showing himself to her; as if she wasn't good enough. That irked her to no ends.

Yes, she would break the thing that was called her son. She would make him see how much she was worth. But first, she had to get rid of his . . . healers.

Ibuki picked up the phone and pressed the number "5". Her secretary picked up: "Yes, Abe-san?"

"Nowaki," she said. "I want you to look up the members of this 'Generation of Miracles from Teiko Middle School, I believe."

"Generation of Miracles? My daughter knows of them."

Ibuki leaned forward over her desk. "Oh?"

"Yes, it seems they are a pretty popular basketball team. It's said their talents come every ten years."

"Who are these members?"

There was the sound of fingers tapping against keys. "Let's see, it shouldn't be that hard to find their articles . . . Ah! Found them."

Ibuki quickly pulled out a piece of paper and pen. Her hand was poised right on top of the piece of paper. "Tell me the names."

"Kise Ryouta," her secretary listed, "Aomine Daiki, Seijuro Akashi, Midorima Shintaro, Murasakibara Atsushi, and . . . there's a rumor that there was a phantom sixth player. Some of these articles say it's a boy named Kuroko Tetsuya."

The teal-haired woman wrote down the names hastily, not caring if she spelled them wrong. An atrocious smile touched her lips at the mention of her son's name. "Interesting."

~Setting Skip~

"Kuroko Tetsuya, eh?" Haisaki took a large bite from his hamburger. He chewed rudely with his mouth happen, but no one dared to complain. "Haven't heard that name in a while." He reached over and stole a couple of fries from Hyuuga, even though he had a box of fries himself. Hyuuga glared at the foreign player.

"Do you know him well?" Riko tried to ask politely.

"Know him?" he slurped his smoothie. "I guess I do. But I couldn't get too close to him. Damn Generation of Miracles always got in the way."

This information made the coach lean forward in excitement. "Do you know why they always got in the way? Anything trigger their overprotective behavior?

Haisaki looked at her strangely. "Hell no. They wouldn't tell me. Not that I give a shit or anything. Akashi kicked me out of the team before I could get any of the real details." He grabbed Kagami's hamburger and shoved it into his mouth. The red-head clenched and unclenched his hands, reminding himself that if he picked a fight with Haisaki, he would probably lose. "But, I did hear a rumor." He swallowed and then dumped more fries into his mouth.

"And what was that?" Teppei asked.

"That the Tetsu kid was abused."

~Setting Skip~

"Man," Kise complained. He was currently standing in a supermarket, at the spices section. A filled basket hung from his right wrist, while his left hand held a ripped piece of paper, most likely his shopping list."Kaa-san is going to kill me if I don't find the right spice for her." He scratched his head and bent down to read the names of each spice bottle. "They all look the same!" he helplessly cried. "It won't matter which one I buy." He picked a random bottle and dropped it in his basket.

The blonde happily checked off the last item. "And done!" he said gleefully.

"Excuse me."

A woman's voice had Kise look down. A fluff of teal-hair caught his attention, and at first he thought it was Kurokocchi going through puberty until he fully saw the woman's face. Much like Kuroko's, but much more feminine, and more cruel. Blue eyes stared at him as if he was lower than her, which made him feel intimidated. Why does she look so familiar? Kise questioned. I swear I've seen her before—

Then it clicked. Kuroko Ibuki. Kurokocchi's mother. The person who hurt his Kurokocchi was standing right in front of him. His happy mood melted instantly.

"Excuse me? Excuse me?" the woman repeated impatiently.

It took all of Kise's strength not to strangle the woman and yell at her about how many times she had hurt his Kurokocchi. It took even more strength to answer her, "Y-yes?"

"I've asked you more than three times to please bring down that large bottle of lemon-and-peper-spice," she said rudely. "Give it to me."

Kise eyed her outfit. She looked like she had just come home from her multiple jobs, with a professional suit and bag to go with it. Her name tag caught his eyes: Abe Miku it read. He found it strange that she would have a different name tag than her other name, Kuroko Ibuki. She has two names? Kise wondered.

The blonde looked at her square in the eye and said, "I can't."

Ibuki raised a blue eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I don't want to," he repeated. "I'm in a rush anyway. Ask one of the workers to help you." Kise stepped to the side and walked past the shocked woman. He made sure to take long strides just in case she would go after him.

Ibuki didn't go after him, which was a relief. Kise paid for everything, told the cashier to keep the tip, and rushed outside with four bags in his hands. He transferred all the bags to his left hand, and took out his phone with his free hand. His thumb pressed over the number two, thanking the phone-making Gods for inventing speed dial, and pushed the call button.

He picked up on the third ring. "Ryouta."

"Akashicchi!" Kise cried. "She came—and she was all rude—and I actually defied her—and it was so weird, and strange, and I didn't like it, and—"

"Calm down and speak in clear sentences," Akashi interrupted. Kise closed his mouth. Now that he was quiet, he actually could hear the heavy pants from the other line.

"Akashicchi . . . What are you doing?"

"That is not for you to know. Is there a reason for calling me, Ryouta?"

Kise blinked. "Huh? Oh, yeah! I met Kurokocchi's mother just a few minutes ago!"

"What?" Akashi suddenly hissed. "Where?"

"Supermarket," Kise answered immediately.

"Did she say anything interesting to you?" The heavy pants got more distant on the phone, and Kise assumed Akashi was moving to a different room.

"No, she didn't recognize me. I think. But her nametag was weird."

"Weird how, Ryouta?"

Kise looked both ways before running across the street to reach his house. His phone almost slipped from his hand. "It—it had a different name to it. It didn't spell out Kuroko Ibuki."

Now he could hear a rustling of papers and the clicking of a pen. Akashi's voice came out slow and demanding, "What was the name?"

He tried to search his memories to remember the name. "Eto, A-Abe Miku, I think."

"You think?"

"I know, I mean!" Kise quickly changed his words. "It was Abe Miku. And it was spelled differently too." Kise listed the Japanese characters. Furious scribbling could be heard through the phone.

"Thank you, Ryouta. You will be rewarded." Akashi hung up.

Kise stared at his cell phone in disbelief. He knew Akashi usually hung up on him right away, but he could have at least said 'bye' in this situation. The blonde pouted. Everybody was so mean to him!

He decided to call Aomine to tell him about the news. He stopped right outside his house and dialed the number.

"Ugh, what is it, Kise?" a gruff voice asked sleepily. "I have seven bruises from those brats at the kindergarten. There better be a good reason for why you're interrupting my sleep."

"There is!" Kise said eagerly. "See, I just got off the phone with Akashicchi about Kurokocchi's mother, and Akashicchi was asking all these questions, and he was really recording down the name I saw—I mean, did you know Kurokocchi's mother had two names or something? What does that mean? Well, Akashicchi—" A dial tone filled Kise's ears. He blinked. "Eh?" He looked at his phone's screen, and in white letters, it read: Aominecchi Has Ended The Call. "Eh-h-h?" Kise cried. "Uwa-a-h! Aominecchi hung up on me! Why is everyone is mean?"

(Thank you for your reviews, guys! The last chapter had tons of reviews, haha. Anyway, when I first saw Akashi in the manga, I immediately thought Akashi would be the type of person to know Martial Arts and/or Aikido. He just seems like that type of agile and powerful person, no? And plus, in the Character Bible, he likes riding horses and Kuroko's best subject is geography xD. Anyway, thank you very much for your continuous support.)

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I also will be writing a Christmas one/two-shot with all my favorite yaoi couples of Kuroko no Basuke, so look out for that! Yes, that means AkaKuro, AoKise, etc. :)