Chapter 10: Important Dates
Multicolored eyes glared forlornly into the television with varied expressions: blank opals from yours truly — although saddened ever so slightly —, pretending emeralds, dulled topazes, sharp rubies, exasperated sapphires, calculating pink quartz, and finally, unamused amethysts; before with a final click, black embodied the screen with an inky void, the silence loud. The Winter Cup was finished and won by Rakuzan once more with the following line up: Seiren, Yosen, Shutoku, Tou and finally Kaijo. The less than exciting matches without their aces or respective Miracles was blatant and almost painfully obvious as they watched the finals, against Seiren and Rakuzan; mirroring the missed Inter-High as well.
The silence was almost considered golden as it was not often that the seven of them were quiet together. But to anyone looking in, they would have considered it mildly disturbing and wary, even more so reluctant to break.
However, it was by the television that broke it.
It was another invention that allowed the seven of them access to technology even in the confines of magic, this time a collaboration between Akashi and Midorima as it flashed with an incoming call from six different people each from their teams. Glancing at the time, Akashi found that it well into the afternoon, which meant that their teams were calling in directly after the match, most likely deciding to call all of them through their respective phones. Sighing softly, Akashi stood first before nodding everyone to their respective positions (Momoi following Daiki), having done this too many times to need any real orders — lying to friends of their 'ningen' lives.
Each taking their respective lines to their chambers, they all steeled themselves before answering.
"Sei-chan!" Reo's feminine smile greeted him as he could see Kotaro and Eikichi in the background arguing over whom got to hold the trophy for their victory. "Did you watch the match?"
Akashi smiled softly, before lifting his glasses, having decided to take the video call in his office. "Yes I did, Reo. You all did well with my absence and congratulations on your victory over Seiren."
"Reo-nee! Is that Akashi?! Let us talk to him too!" Kotaro shouted in the back as Akashi kept his amused and small smile, despite himself.
In another chamber was Murasakibara, who hummed in nonchalance as his gorilla captain lectured him for snacking at such a time when they had just lost a game against Rakuzan again in the Winter Cup. All while Muro-chin was wishing Atsushi well in France but ended up promising to send Japanese snacks… several boxes worth…
"Eh? Gorilla-captain was here too~?" Murasakibara blinked, his mouth chewing on some creme biscuits. "When did you get here~?"
"… I WAS THE ONE WHO CALLED YOU…!" The former captain then proceeded to cry out about no respect for the captain. No one spared him much of a glance as random passerby whispered behind cupped hands.
"Former captain." Kensuke corrected, lax and uncaring behind the crying captain. "We graduated."
"Ah~ That's right." Murasakibara nodded, all of them ignoring the former captain who sulked further.
Kise was arguably no better, as he pouted at the call from Kasamatsu, who glared the best he could along with a stern bellow since he was not present in the physical form to kick their ace. "Even Kasamatsu-senpai and senpai-tachi are there~! I wanna see~!"
"Who's fault is it that only Hayakawa and Nakamura are the only senior players? That stupid photoshoot of yours took you from the team as our ace. What did you think was going to happen, Kise?!"
"It's not my fault, senpai!" The blonde whined. "It's the stupid agency's! They won't let me decline from this photoshoot at all!"
"So, where are you this time?" The former captain managed out before shouting at the others to shut up, inducing a genuine smile from the blonde as he began to complain and whine about time-zones and the sweltering sun in Spain. Across the wing, Aomine lounged at his couch with a severely disinterested expression as Momoi greeted the Tou regulars, both former and current as she sent a look to Aomine to do the same.
Ignoring her, he said the first thing on his mind. "Couldn't throw up that last three-pointer, could you, Sakurai?"
Sakurai proceeded to apologize for existing.
"Dai-chan!" Momoi slapped his shoulder as Imayoshi cleared up the air before Wakamatsu or she could begin yelling. Although, Sakurai was already apologizing in the background, continuing to do so even before the call began.
"Now, now; Aomine. Sakurai has done well as well as the other regulars to assist in filling up the hole that our ace has left." The bespectacled former captain reprimanded lightly, well aware of silent jabs he sent to his former ace. "The files that Momoi-chan had sent us were very useful in defeating Kaijo."
"Satsuki?" He sent a surprised look at his manager who huffed.
"Honestly, Dai-chan. The moment we came to America, the only thing that is in your head is joining the NBA. You need to remember that you are still a part of Tou Academy."
"Oi, Aomine!" Wakamatsu's voice bellowed into the bachelor pad as the blonde captain shoved his face into the camera, his ticked off face clear. "You better be practicing over there, you bastard."
"Tch." The tanned male merely rolled over, the blonde completely ignored.
In a more sophisticated air, Midorima moved his glasses over his eyes as he waved off Takao's teases, clearly mistaking his questions for concern for his team. As if that were to be the case, the tsundere huffed, when it was obvious that if the team had suffered without his presence, then that was a clear indication that he had chosen wrong. But the Teiko vice-captain wasn't fooling anyone, least of all, Takao.
"Shin-chan~! You forgot the rickshaw!"
"Takao. That is for you to care for upon my return, I have a driver for my needs in Germany. Scorpio was told to be particularly slow today, as usual, Oha-Asa never ceases to be wrong." The green-haired male frowned.
"Oi, Yuya." His former captain smiled with a tick mark. "Get me a pineapple."
"I've got it." Their former power forward, Kimura revealed, holding the fruit out of nowhere. "But we have a problem, Miyaji. Midorima is over in Germany."
"Then we'll send it! Then that brat can smash it on his own head."
Midorima silently recalled to himself that his former captain was also a Scorpio and that Cancers were foretold to not have mixed well with them today. He glanced at his tub of body lotion before lingering over the end call icon, perhaps it was more convenient to call them another time. Without his former captain and Takao present.
In the other hand, Kuroko was currently in the midst of a very typical dilemma of his everyday life. His teammates were unaware of his presence… even though Kagami, his current basketball light, was the one to call him and currently, were at Maji Burger. Silently peeved at the missed chance for a vanilla milkshake, the phantom spoke up when he noticed his name was mentioned.
"I wonder how Kuroko is doing in Germany?"
"I am fine, Kagami-kun."
All at once, the Seiren team scrambled up from their booth and searched wildly for their absent shadow. "Kuroko?!"
Kuroko was currently having a great up-close view of his light's hand.
"On the phone, Kagami-kun."
Kuroko proceeded to speak to his teammates through the phone, making sure to keep up his story along with the rest of the Teiko graduates, having made simple accommodations to the detail — from Akashi's office, Midorima's lab coat, Murasakibara's French snacks, NBA inspired jerseys on Aomine's walls, Kise's light tan and Kuroko's lack of uniform in an international school. As the phantom spoke, he glanced ever-so-slightly at hour. It was nearing time for practice. The one they enjoyed.
Bidding all farewell and congratulations for getting as far as the finals, Kuroko was the last to hang up before discarding his facade, wishing nothing more but to melt into the shadows.
But that was three days ago, Kuroko thought to himself, awakening in his chambers once more, the darkness informing him it was still night in the ship. Aches on his body reminded him of the training that the six of them had gone through, the next step in Akashi's hellish training regime, fitted for each of them based on capability. Naturally, Tetsuya's was the easiest but nonetheless, left the phantom worshipping the blessed floor of the grounds with the rest of his cohorts, careful to not push the unspoken boundary — with one nudge at a time. Well-known to only the miracles and their respective teams, the six prodigies had one weakness — overuse of their monstrous strength. Kuroko was no exception, as his was more complicated, he was fragile and delicate compared to his teammates, but none who have caught the Ignite Pass (or Kai) could have said that it was easily done — he was the phantom sixth man of the Kiseki no Sedai for a goddamned reason.
In any case, Kise had bothered all of them very loudly how much it hurt when he had successfully copied it. Not to mention the loud repercussion of such news.
Midorima and Akashi were irate, the former more so than the latter as he lectured for a good paragraph of the effects it would cause the phantom's fragile body all while denying his concern in his typical tsundere way — not to say that the scolding that Kuroko had received from his captain was nothing to laugh at either. Aomine was despondent with Murasakibara as they individually asked if perhaps it was because of them that he had to adjust the strength of the pass. To resolve this, Kuroko had to explain that the pass was similar to their own abilities, a condition that he had trained himself into; Kise was simply experiencing the repercussions from not going through the same. Just like how Perfect Copy was unable to copy the abilities of the Miracles consecutively due to the strain upon his high school body, Kuroko's Ignite Pass was no exception of an ability.
Shaking himself out of the memory, Kuroko glanced at his phone. Ah, four days ago.
His bed hair was in its usual disarray as Tetsuya spent a good thirty minutes taming it absently, his thoughts running across his mind as the sun peaked over the horizon. The six of them usually slept in the main chambers together, just so that the early risers — Akashi, Midorima and Kuroko — could rouse the others quickly, but after the calls from their respective high school teams, an unspoken agreement to sleep in their own cots was implemented when none of them had bothered to sleep the large bedchamber. It was a weekday, meaning that he had a Hogwarts class with his captain, and it was Kise's turn to lecture with Murasakibara.
The phantom stopped, mid-pause as he was clipping on his uniform jacket.
It was nearing. That anniversary.
Aomine blinked at the girls that stared up at him, giggly and hiding their smiles behind dainty hands that had never as much as lifted anything above ten pounds. Hogwarts students, two from the one that 'Chosen One' was from and the another two from one of the others… He had stopped listening when they had started to giggle every two words. Satsuki was annoying and clingy when she got lovey-dovey-eyed with Tetsu, but other girls, it was… boring.
The basketball idiot was, without a doubt, an idiot; but that did not mean he was stupid in that there weren't people who were only interested in him for their own benefit. That lesson was well-learned in middle school.
However, before the navy-haired male could play as the heartbreaker, Midorima had cut in. "Aomine. Akashi has called for us. Now."
Aomine knew better than to refuse the command of Satan's right hand, as he quickly rejected the hearts of foreigner lovers — they didn't have the correct rack anyway — making his way past the halls of Hogwarts before entering the private classroom. Still filled with students with yellow and violet badges, the sharp-shooter and ace of the Kiseki acknowledged the bows in their direction with approval — a half-hearted nod compared to a discreet glance — before making their way to the lecture platform, where Kise and Murasakibara were. The former greeted them with a brilliant grin before stating that he had demoted two of the second string in his ranks, after they had failed today's performance exam. Aomine wasn't surprised when Murasakibara had voiced the same, relieving one of his — the ace had done the same yesterday.
"… Aomine was just asked earlier." Midorima's voice sounded, taking the ace from his thoughts. Shrugging off his jacket, he blinked at the sharp-shooter.
"What? Who asked me what?"
"We were talking about the Yule Ball, Aominecchi!" Kise gladly informed. "I was asking if any of you got asked to attend. My bag is filled from all the love letters from my ranks~!"
"Oh, that." The tanned male shrugged. "Do we have to go?"
"McGonagall-sensei did say that champions of the Tournament were required to have the first dance of the ball, therefore, whether we wish to go or not, we must go." Midorima nodded, holding his potted cactus. "Otherwise, we would have the required month off from schooling as nearly every academic facility would offer to their students to take."
"And this year will be no exception, Shintarou."
Turning the four found their captain with his heterochromic gaze cool and a thoughtful Kuroko behind him, each one holding a crystal ball. "Eh? What's that for Akashicchi?"
"This is a gift from Trelawney-sensei, after she had read my teacup and Tetsuya's, she had thrown this at us and proclaimed to the class that I was to succeed in any field I chose because I had a ghost that led me to victory — haunting me constantly apparently." The others sweat-dropped at the captain's tale, unable to be too fazed by anything at this point. "And that ghost is Tetsuya."
Laughing lightly, Kise juggling the crystal orbs. "That's not the first time Kurokocchi has been mistaken for a ghost."
"… You misunderstand, Kise-kun. Trelawney-sensei still believes me to be a ghost. The seeing orbs that Akashi-kun and I had received were offerings and prayers for my eternal rest."
A moment of silence was given to allow that statement to sink, much to the amusement of a certain red-head that caught the crystal balls — Kise favored to stare at the phantom instead of catching —, intending to add them to his collection as the Council Leader of Divination.
"… After all of this time, Kuroko? Since we've come here?"
"Hai." Was the phantom's answer, not looking too bothered that his title was taken literally by a professor. Aomine snickered first, placing a hand over the shadow's sky-blue locks ruffling the once neatly brushed hair.
"Don't ever change, Tetsu."
"I do not have any intention to, Aomine-kun. Please let go of my head." Kuroko deadpanned. "Akashi-kun has something to announce to all of us, regarding the Yule Ball this Christmas."
"Thank you, Tetsuya." Akashi took over smoothly, all of them giving their captain the proper attention, recognizing that the time for jokes was over. "We will not be attending the Yule Ball in the most conventional of methods, instead; we will be returning to Japan for the night. I am sure that I do not have to remind all of you of the occasion and why, orders and directives will be sent to each of you tonight."
"Why not right now?" Aomine inquired, his eyes bored but glinted with focus.
Midorima gestured to their classroom, bandaged hand curling to a fist. "Security in the form of Murasakibara's defenses is state-of-the-art, without a doubt. But caution is always a virtue when it comes to confidential information, Aomine. You should know just how confidential this particular matter is."
Having no argument, the tanned ace addressed something else. "So, if we're not going to attend the stupid ball, who is?"
"We have a second-in-command for a reason, Daiki." Akashi smirked, all of the seated in the empty classroom. "We will not be the only ones who will be using Polyjuice Potion this particular evening, or should I say this year?"
"So it wasn't just obvious to me?" Kise piped up, the blonde twirled his lime wand absently. "You'd think with their track record with Defence Against the Dark Arts professors, the staff or even the students would be suspicious of the people given the job."
"Eh, so you picked up the smell of Polyjuice Potion too, Kise-chin?" Murasakibara hummed, a bar of chocolate in his hands. "That Death Eater wasn't even trying to conceal it. But I would imagine that he's about to run out of ingredients for it, the ingredients are harder to obtain in England."
"Is Polyjuice Potion that difficult to mix, Murasakibara-kun?"
"Not really if you prepare for it well." The giant shrugged, his eyes bored. "It's a Class III potion, that makes the user disguise themselves as another person for up to twenty-four hours or less, depending on how well you brew it. All you really need is the base before the last step and when you need it, add the hair and drink. The ingredients are just a pain to find, and have delivered in par with time to brew."
"So, who is the actual Defence Against the Dark Arts professor that we have been attending class with?" Aomine said, addressing the elephant in the room.
"That's the reason, Momoi-san has been absent for a while, Aomine-kun." Kuroko spoke up. "And from the intel she has sent me, the likelihood of Murasakibara-kun's conclusion of the professor being a current active member of the Death Eaters is high."
"Agreed." Midorima nodded, glasses glowing with an ominous tint. "According to what my subordinates were able to unearth, the first year Potter was in attendance of Hogwarts, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was a wizard possessed by the Dark Lord. The heir to the snake house, the year after that could have resulted in the death of several students and a loose serial killer this previous; it is clear that our English cohort is anything but trouble."
"And if I am correct in my deductions…" Midorima trailed off, his eyes glancing to Kuroko before they landed on Akashi, who smiled ever-so-slightly. Of course, the captain had come to the conclusion first. "… then we will be involving ourselves in a mess that we are all too uncomfortably familiar with."
Glances that were exchanged with haunted knowing flitted across the five, Kuroko's expression thinly flat, unchanged with an underlying tension as Akashi waved a hand, attention acquired with ease. "In any case, it is none of our concern. The six of us have come this far for one reason and it was more than just to simply appease our parents in wanting our participation in the Wizarding World be greater than our current standard. And I will not have the business of such a lowly creature hinder any of it."
"Oi, Akashi. That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Aomine none-so-subtly glanced at his shadow before glaring at the captain who sighed before looking at Kuroko, who had stiffened ever so slightly. He was keenly aware of the eyes on his person, but refused to acknowledge them.
"Not all of them are…" The tanned male paused, unable to find the word. His shadow was still fixed upon one thing. His wand, fingertips tracing the yew and engravings absently, distracting but obviously listening with a keen ear.
"…intentional?" Kise supplied softly as the ace nodded solemnly. "Aominecchi is right, Akashicchi. Kurokocchi… would never... at least… with such intent…"
"Kise-chin." Murasakibara fingered his buttery snacks, the salt covering long fingers but not reaching toward his mouth as he spoke in a light whisper. "You know Aka-chin didn't mean it that way to Kuro-chin."
Sensing an argument that was soon-to-be, the shadow finally sighed. Replacing his wand, the sixth man of the Miracles spoke, his words soft-spoken but rang with the haunting chill of the depths of Hell. "Regardless of intent, Akashi-kun's statement is not entirely false, Aomine-kun. Kise-kun. Murasakibara-kun is right in that I am well aware that Akashi-kun was not trying to compare myself to Voldemort-san, but rather compare to the moments of weakness that made us similar in actions. To befall into a hopeless state of despair that…"
"… your soul was no longer yours." Akashi finished, golden eye flashing briefly.
Midorima allowed the silence to reign before adding. "Eventually, forming into a full-fledged Horcrux — splitting the soul entirely, the one of the greatest capital offenses of the Eastern Wizarding World."
Harry groaned into the his textbook during study hall under the keen watch of Snape, Hermione and Ron loyally seated by his sides as he and Ron had a slight problem that required them to something that boys of their age group (… well not all) had difficulty in completing with suave — asking for a date to the Yule Ball. Naturally, Ron had his eyes on the pink-haired beauty of Mahoutokoro while Harry was equally infatuated with an elegant Cho Chang — only to have their hopes sorely shot when both boys were swiftly rejected. Hermione, in the other hand, was unsympathetic to their plight and was more concerned with her textbook and written assignment.
Great. Just when he had managed to work the confidence to ask Cho to the ball, he finds out that his fellow teammate and current captain, had gotten to his date before him. Mood soured and annoyed at the Hufflepuff, Harry merely watched the slow uprise of Hermione's temper when Ron tactlessly asked her to the ball, since she was also a girl — like he had suddenly had this lovely epiphany. Needless to say, Hermione was not pleased, storming off before declaring she already had a date and she had given this request a 'yes.'
Therefore, that Christmas night before the Grand Hall, the Boy Who Lived was dressed in proper white and black dress robes beside Parvati Patil while her twin sister was beside a gaudily dressed Ron. But to fulfill the role of a rude date, Harry's green eyes were fixed upon one gold-adorned Chinese dress, escorted by a handsomely dressed Cedric. But that was no end to the surprises of that night, as Hermione made her entrance of breathtaking beauty, the girl's brown locks curled into princess ringlets that glistened with gold, her dress a waterfall of purple magenta ruffles as Viktor Krum escorted her for the night, tall and imposing in his red uniform and fur coat. Other Durmstrang students escorted dates of their own for the night, several of Hogwarts and a small number from the prodigal school that had yet to make their appearance.
with a dramatic entrance that rivaled the Dark Lord, the six were dressed handsomely that Harry shifted in his dress robes with a hint of envy, all beside an equally breathtaking young lady as their company. Aomine entered first — azul locks brushed back and messily run through with mousse — , in a ebony shirt under a navy vest with golden lapels, contrasting easily with his caramel skin, a midnight rose over his chest as a lavender blue coat billowed at mid-thigh length. Pure white pants covered the long legs of the ace as they ended at knee-high boots, the final touch to the his scowl as he escorted a blushing Angelina Johnson, her velvet purple ballroom dress complimenting her dark skin tone, idling noting that Aomine had already loosened his bow tie and the first three buttons of his top.
But she had no complaints. His date whispered to him, her cheeks flushed as Harry felt himself annoyed that his date was paying another man attention when he was her date. If anything, the move had made the tanned male more detectable apparently.
Following their ace, was a male that Harry knew that he held the attention of every female the moment he entered. Locks spun from pure gold, Kise smirked ever-so-slightly as he held Luna Lovegood's dainty hand in a white gloved grip. Dressed in a white shirt underneath a gold vest with a black tie tucked at his neck — with a golden rose at the tie —, the blonde smiled wider, as he helped his lady down the steps, the epitome of a gentleman as her arm locked on his brushing his white overcoat. The overcoat was decorated with gold embellishments, collar an ebony as ruby colored the inside, ending at his knees — covered by navy pants and knee-high boots, laced to the very top. With those topaz eyes and morning-after muss of golden locks, the Chaser was an Adonis in human form. Luna was ravishing in her own right, dressed in a bell-like dress than flowed with ruffles at the bodice and hems, star-like earrings glittering with her platinum waves.
Midorima came in next, his outfit proper and without error. A sole silver monocle replaced square glasses, as he allowed Hannah Abbott a moment to compose herself, unable to believe the gifted sharpshooter had consented to having her company for the night. Over a forest green shirt, her date wore an ebony tie and a pin-striped white vest, his twin-coat-tailed light green blazer smooth in her touch as a dark chartreuse rose unfurled at his breast. Dark black pants stretched to the earth as white shoes ended them with a soft touch of gold. Looking down at herself, she bit her glossed lips, feeling inadequate. Dressed in a light orange mini with a bun of small gold curls that was her hair, Hannah positively swooned when Midorima softened his expression ever-so-slightly before assuring her that she was beautiful tonight.
Unlike Midorima, who suddenly had the suaveness of Kise, Murasakibara had no break in character as he entered with Flora Carrow, her emerald green ballroom dress dragging behind her as brown locks were pinned back with gold pins — holding out a lollipop for her date. Murasakibara took the sweet with a soft thank you in black-gloved hands — unlike his teammates, the giant was dressed in a pin-striped lavender shirt, hidden under a gold-bordered overcoat, that revealed only a thin black tie that was loosened enough to hint a well-sculpted body, the collar popped as it billowed at his knees. Lavender locks were tied back with an ebony ribbon as his long legs were donned in white before finishing in black boots just before the ankle — his rose matching the colors of the Sedai, over his breast.
Finally, their captain make his appearance.
Despite being dressed in nearly all white, the short young man was imposing and majestic — commanding all to his attention. Ruby locks brushed back to reveal calculating garnets, Akashi escorted his fellow-redhead, Ginny Weasley with a white-gloved hand. Uniform clipped to his neck with golden lapels down the white overcoat, a stripe of crimson declared the family he belonged to, as a ruby cape covered his person, ending at his ebony boots. The cape was simple, clasped to his uniform with golden clips as white fur warmed his collar, swaying in the soft wind as they revealed white pants tucked into the black boots neatly. Beside the captain, Ginny in a grey and black mini, as her hair was done in ringlets, a small blossom adorning the fiery red locks. On the hand that held Ginny's, a small red rose glinted on his index finger.
And with his presence only noticed by the beauty by his side, Kuroko was dressed simply compared to his teammates — his ensemble entirely black other than his white ruffled shirt under an ebony vest and a small tie. Red coattails reflected at his knees as brown dress shoes covered his feet, the phantom's hands holding a radiant Momoi beside him, as a pale blue rose blossomed over his chest. Momoi Satsuki smiled with painted lips as her entrance drew just as much attention as Hermione, her pink hair pinned into a messy bun with dangling gold ornaments. Her dress dragged behind her in a train of silk, embroidered with gold leaf intertwined in the pink. The bodice was patterned with peach blossoms as her back was bare other than silk ribbons that dangled over the pink, contrasting in white. Her sleeves were wide and transparent as they were patterned with roses, effectively making Kuroko Tetsuya a very envied man that evening.
But little to the revelation of the attendants of the Yule Ball, the Generation of Miracles were not in attendance for that Christmas night.