Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: A kingdom AU, telling the story of how six discarded children join together to form the strongest group Teikou has ever seen.
Akashi Seijuro is a name well known throughout the kingdom, and yet, the red haired boy can't help but want something more.
Perhaps what he wishes for is recognition in a good way; it wouldn't be uncalled for at all, seeing as he is a prince in the ever growing and prosperous kingdom of Teikou. Teikou is an enormous providence, surrounded on all sides by the smaller yet still respectable communities of Rakuzan, Kaijou, Yosen, and Shutoku. From what he's heard, two new kingdoms, Seirin and Touou, have also become stronger recently.
They still bear no match to Teikou's strength.
However, regarding Akashi's current problem, there are many things that he wishes for.
His father (known as Akashi Yuusuke to a select few, and as the Red Emperor to all others who dare to utter his name) has a bit of an issue with Seijuro himself. Although there are few (if any) things to fault the child, he still dislikes him. Seijuro knows why, of course; one day, he will take over his father's position.
And his father is very proud of his current standing.
"Are you listening?" A voice interrupts Akashi's thoughts of mild self pity, and his heterochromatic eyes snap toward his tutor. Hanamiya Makoto. He's a genius, of course, but he's terribly arrogant and extremely prone to violence.
Not that Akashi's father minds that.
"No," Akashi answers truthfully, eyes half-lidded. It isn't as if the 'tutor' is actually going to teach him anything; he's read through all the books he's already been saddled with by the unpleasant teacher, and his comprehension rate is high to the point that even the treacherous Hanamiya will admit its impressive attributes.
Hanamiya's mouth ticks just the smallest amount, and Akashi allows a smile to flit to his lips for a moment before forcefully shoving it down.
"Well, brat, you should make a point of doing so next time. Even though you seem to think you know everything, you don't. Sometimes, the people you least expect to teach you things will actually end up getting across to you. And yes, you arrogant little worm, I am talking about myself. Anyway," he continues, taking a sigh after his self-elevating speech, "I was just saying that the Red Emperor wishes to speak to you. So get on that."
Akashi does so, cracking his neck in both directions before walking off silently, rolling his eyes as soon as he's sure that Hanamiya can no longer see him.
Having already memorized the path to his father's private chambers, Akashi allows himself to go onto autopilot, thoughts drifting to other areas.
He's a failure of a prince, in accordance to his father, and said father has no problem telling everybody his views. Akashi can't remember the last time he left the castle; when he was a baby, perhaps, but even he can't remember those earliest days which all humans are bound to forget.
Before he can realize how long he's traveled, Akashi finds himself staring at the wonderfully carved wood and cast iron door that leads to his father's chambers. He doesn't bother to knock, and instead bursts into the door forcefully.
His father is sitting at his large desk, all cunning and sly smiles and falsely tilted eyes and fake warm demeanor. Everything that Akashi despises and openly rejects, opting to tell brutal truths instead of pretty lies.
"Ah, Seijuro," his father purrs, and Akashi scowls slightly, his lips just barely pushing in.
"Hello Akashi-sama," he says stoically, and his father's eyebrow quirks.
"So cold, my son," he says mockingly. "And here I am with the desire to aid your growth." Akashi looks up at that.
"If I may be so bold, what does that mean?" He asks, and Akashi Yuusuke's eyes close as a large, sickly sweet smile spreads across his lips. "I was just thinking that, seeing as you're alone all the time, you must get lonely. By the time you will be... inheriting the throne," he spits out, and Seijuro relishes the sour look on his father's face, "the special forces team will be retiring."
"And that means what, Akashi-sama?" Seijuro continues, and his father's smile widens, if possible.
"I want you to find and scout some kids your age to replace them! They'll be taken to the castle to be trained, and you no longer have to be alone," he says, and Seijuro's eyes narrow.
It's clearly some kind of cover up; some kind of ruse to cover the real meaning behind his sudden drought of kindness. That, or he really just wants his son out of his hair. But still, 11 year old Akashi Seijuro is lonely, and if this little game will allow him to venture outside the castle walls, then...
"I see. I accept your... offer, Akashi-sama."
...
The first one Akashi decides to offer a position to is rather similar to himself in some ways.
He had seen him while strolling down the street. The boy was hard to miss, really, with his deep green eyes and hair to match, donning patchwork clothes and cracked glasses. The boy had been confronting a large fruit vendor at the time, a man ten times his size, with enormous muscles and a scraggly beard. And yet, the boy still stood tall, mouth shaped in a permanent sneer. He was probably some son of a merchant.
They stood probably three meters away from each other, but the tension was thick.
"It's idiotic, the way you choose to conduct yourself. You should just leave, before you manage to embarrass yourself further," the boy had said calmly, and Akashi was ready to introduce himself right then and there when the man snapped.
He threw a rock at the young, seemingly unsuspecting boy. And somehow, somehow, the boy dodged it. His eyes flashed brightly for a moment, and he picked up the rock himself.
"What's a boy like you gonna do anyway?" The man had shouted, face red, lips twisted. "What can an unwanted street rat like you possibly do to me?"
The green haired boy took that declaration as a personal challenge, and before Akashi could comprehend his actions, sent the rock flying back at the man with a quick and practiced flick of the wrist.
The rock sailed through the air, practically whistling, before throwing itself neatly into the man's left eye. While the man cursed and screamed, Akashi's mind reeled.
It had to have been a mistake. A happy accident; Lady Luck had interfered, sending that stone sailing just right. Because there's no way that boy could've had that accuracy with such a large, unbalanced rock.
But the look on the boy's face, the look of utter satisfaction, the look of complete victory and not a hint of remorse or surprise, told Akashi otherwise.
"Hello," he said, "my name is Akashi Seijuro." The boy's eyes had narrowed, but eventually, he stuck out his hand to shake.
"Midorima. Midorima Shintarou. I expect that you have something to say to me?"
Akashi had just smiled.
He hadn't walked back to the castle alone that day.
...
The next addition was the complete opposite of both Midorima and himself, and still, Akashi found that he couldn't help but ask the boy to join.
He had been walking with a bit of money, and of course, by a bit, he means more than a collective village. But in his defense, Akashi Seijuro is the crown prince of Teikou.
Pastries. Of all the trivial things his father could have ordered him to go on a hunt for, it had to be the pastries. But not just any pastries; pastries from the famous bakery of Teikou, an easily identified building with purple walls and a bright, well painted sign. A bakery that had been passed down through the Murasakibara family for years and years.
The boy in question held four total bags of flour, probably about 50 pounds each, balanced on both of his shoulders. His skin was a sickly pale color, the skin of a person who rarely sees the sun and often gets stuck inside.
The skin of a dedicated baker.
He placed the flour down softly, with care, and his eyes looked so desolate that Akashi couldn't help but freeze and observe a bit more. He was good for such a young child, if the pastries being distributed were any indication, but he still looked so alone.
Less than a minute later, Akashi saw why.
"Atsushi! Get over here now, you idiot! Dear gods, you have one job today, boy! Pick up the flour bags! Do those words include the words 'take a break'?" A young man yells at the boy, looking quite similar to the boy in all ways. The boy gulped and looked down.
"No," he said softly, and his voice was childish and sad. Scoffing, the other person (a sibling, perhaps) left the boy all alone, and it was then that he decided to make his move.
"Hello?" Akashi asked tentatively, and the boy looked at him with large, droopy eyes.
"Neh?" He replied, meeting Akashi's eyes slowly.
"My name is Akashi Seijuro. Can you talk for a minute?"
The boy looked around nervously before quirking his lips to the side, thinking. "M'kay. I'm Murasakibara Atsushi."
...
The third and fourth additions were unexpected in all ways, right from the start.
Aomine Daiki. Akashi didn't even have to introduce himself to hear his name, which was both convenient and worrisome. Convenient because it would be less work. Worrisome because of the manner in which he heard it.
"Stop him! That's Aomine Daiki! Little shit robs us every other day!" A merchant yelled, chasing after the speeding boy while unsheathing a deadly looking dagger. Akashi's eyes widened as the navy blue blur ran past his carriage with unfathomable speed, a wild look in his eyes and a feral smile gracing his mouth.
A loud laugh left his mouth as he turned a sharp corner, and Akashi's sharp eyes took that into account as he recalled a city map. "Reo," he had warned his chauffeur, "I'm going to get out. You may return to the castle."
Akashi had long since memorized the layout of the city, and he knew he could catch up with the young felon if he ran his heart out and took all the right twists and turns.
Five minutes later, Akashi's theory proved to be correct as he intercepted the other teen. Yes, teen; Akashi had been growing older, and he had just recently entered his adolescent years; a ripe 13. Not even panting, the other teen looked completely elated. Akashi took a peek at what he had stolen, and was surprised.
He had stolen a chain, well made and iron plated, granted, but just a chain nonetheless. Why had he risked being arrested for that?
"Eh? Hey, who're you?" Aomine asked, raising a curious eyebrow. Akashi took that time to inspect him.
He had on a black shirt, if the torn shreds could even be referred to as such, with beige pants. Who knows, the pants may have even been white in the beginning, but time and wear had taken their toll on the poor garments. His skin was a deep tan hue, rare to the central city of Teikou, and his eyes were slightly narrowed.
His naivety made Akashi smile. Clearly, he was dirt poor, probably a street rat. How could he know the face of his prince, next in line for the throne or not?
"My name is Akashi Seijuro. Can I talk to you?" He asked, and Aomine had paused for a moment to inspect him. Something in his eyes sparked, and Aomine's eyes widened to their normal state.
"Yeah, okay. Sorry bout that, I just needed to decide if I was gonna talk to you or what," he rambled on easily, walking in a different direction. Seeing Akashi standing still, he rolled his eyes. "Come on, follow me if you really wanna talk. I'm not exactly popular in the area, obviously," he snorted, and Akashi followed diligently.
"Where are we going, exactly?" Akashi asked, and Aomine cracked both shoulders experimentally before beaming.
"My home! Just a warning though, I don't live alone. And it's not, like, a house or anything. Yeah, this chain is for my friend, actually! He's the one who taught me how to do that thing earlier, by the way, that whole 'observe to see if you can trust them' crap," he explained, swinging the chain around.
"Really? What's your friend like?" Akashi asked, and immediately, he could sense Aomine's guards going up.
"Why?" He wondered, looking at Akashi out of the corner of his eye. "It's none of your business!"
Defensive, hm?
"No reason, really," Akashi answered, deciding not to push it. "You just sound like you like them a lot." Dropping his guard a little, Aomine smiled.
"Yeah, he's cool. Not really a people person, honestly, and he doesn't really like getting into conflicts. But he's also a hell of a fighter, even if his weapon choice is a bit weird," he admits, laughing outwardly. Akashi quirked his eyebrows.
"Really? He uses a weapon?" He asked lightly, not wanting Aomine to grow suspicious. Aomine lead Akashi down a different road, a slim, dark, winding thing, and then continued.
"Yep. Both of us do, actually. Y'know how Teikou was at war with Kirisaki Daiichi, like, four years ago? Yeah, and they kept, like, just nabbing kids from surrounding groups and then training them and throwing them on the battlefield? Yeah, he and I are like that. I was from one of the mountain tribes, and he's from a seaside village. I like using swords," he admitted, laughing.
Akashi's heart panged, feeling guilty. He shouldn't have; it was his father that got the kingdom into that war, not him, but that person that stood next to him, and his best friend, apparently, had been through hell and back. Aomine didn't seem to be too affected by the trauma, though.
"Yeah, I was one of those guys who stood on the front lines with the heavy ass armor, then took down everyone in their path. He was one of the guys that wore the lightweight black armor then snuck around the back to assassinate the generals and all the other important figures," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Oh! We're here."
Akashi followed Aomine past a hanging linen sheet, and into a cozy back area.
Somehow, it feels more homey than Akashi's own room.
A few crates rested here and there, two particularly large ones full of hay. Beds? Torches sat at irregular intervals, and lanterns were strung up all around the small, closed off area. Various weapons lay on the ground. But that was all. No roommate, no friend, no other people. Who had Aomine been talking about?
"Yo, Tetsu, I got you the chain you needed. Plus, I met this guy who wants to talk, and he's trustworthy. I already told him some stuff," Aomine said seriously, tossing a chain toward one of the crates.
A hand manifested out of thin air to catch it. At least, that's what it looked like.
"Ah, thank you Aomine-kun. And he does look sincere, doesn't he?"
The voice was soft and sweet, like tinkling bells, and after finally seeing the ghost of a boy fully, Akashi had a hard time believing him to be a war veteran. He picked up a dagger; no, not a dagger, but something like it. It lacked a hilt, but everything else about it was quite dagger like.
The boy, 'Tetsu', fastened the new iron chain onto the knife, leaving the deadly point hanging off of probably a meter and a half of iron chain. He fingered it for a moment, then looked up.
"Hello. My name is Kuroko Tetsuya."
In all ways, Kuroko Tetsuya was Aomine's opposite. Bright blue hair, and eyes of the same color, although his eyes were deceptively blank. Skin pale like porcelain, with a delicate face to contrast all of Aomine's roughness. With a rather short stature, and lithe, sinewy muscle instead of the bulky kind Aomine had, Akashi couldn't help but compare him to a doll.
His clothing was all tight fitting, made of some kind of black material, and Akashi noticed another chain-dagger-contraption wrapped around Kuroko's waist. With realization, Akashi's eyes widened; they must have been wearing whatever remained of their military uniforms.
So the longsword in the corner was Aomine's, then.
"I believe that Aomine-kun said something about wanting to speak with us?" Kuroko said politely, bowing slightly, and Akashi smiled.
"Yes. Daiki, Tetsuya, I have a deal that would be good for both of us."
...
The entire group as it was spent a year and a half training, slowly growing closer and closer under the tutelage of one Nijimura Shuuzou in particular, but also with the help of the infamous Haizaki Shougo, who had taken a particular liking to Kuroko (more accurately, he liked his respectful personality and lack of strange quirks), yet hated everybody else.
That was when the sixth member came, a young man by the name of Kise Ryouta.
Being 15, their own age, Akashi's father had thought that he would be a good addition to Akashi's already impressive (they had already far surpassed any expectations set for them) clique. Kise had apparently been the son of a member of a brothel, unwanted and pushed aside, so Akashi had made the executive decision to accept him with open arms.
And, although it took the others a bit of time, Kise was eventually accepted too. Except, of course, by Aomine, who was unhappy with how handsy the blond got with his best friend all the time. Slowly, they fell into the routine of living in a castle together.
"Atsushi, eat with your mouth closed."
"Neh, okay Aka-chin."
"Is that really what you're wearing to the battle meeting today, Ahomine?"
"What the hell?! There's nothing wrong with wearing my fucking clothes to the meeting! Right Tetsu? Eh, Tetsu?"
"Kise-kun, please remove yourself from my waist. You are making me feel uncomfortable."
"C'mon Kurokocchi, you can't deny me all the time~! I love you~!"
Until, finally, the day came that they were all going to their first battle meeting together as 18 year olds, with Akashi Seijuro as head, Kuroko Tetsuya as second in command, Murasakibara as a representative from Yosen, Midorima as a representative from Shutoku, Aomine as a representative from the general Touou district, and Kise as a representative from Kaijou.
"It's fine," Akashi says offhandedly, straightening his own white military captain uniform. A smile falls across his face.
Over the years, he's grown sterner, certainly, and his posture slowly straightened after realizing that he wasn't as useless as his father told him he was. But at the same time, he's still really who he always has been. And the group of people around him; the group of people who were constantly pushed down, constantly used and abused, constantly shut out; they're the people who he can now trust with his life.
They're the people who he can now trust with his friendship.
And he wouldn't trade that for all the better childhood in the world.
AN: I apologize so much for getting this out so late, but it was only half written when I had to leave for Italy on some family issues. I was gone for 10 days give or take, and I banged this out as quickly as I could keep it decent. =_=