A/N:
Warning: contains in-canon violence.
"It's just like a newborn baby, I hear? How can we just let it wander about on its own after what happened yesterday? This is irresponsible of us to let the it rampage and do whatever it likes!"
The woman's voice was disbelieving.
A familiar voice answered hers.
"Riko, they're not what you think they're like. I agree, they're arguably less excitable than the rest, but they're showing something the others haven't."
The woman, Riko-san, remained stubborn, but she sounded slightly curious.
"And what trait would that be?"
Kiyoshi-san laughed.
"They- he's aware of this world. He acknowledges people like there's no difference between him and them. He's…normal. It's good to let him grow on his own."
"Are you saying he's like any other robot? Or that he acts like a human?" Riko-san asked.
"No." Kiyoshi-san sounded unsure. "I think it is more than that. I've only watched him for a short time, but I'm sure he'll surprise us."
Riko-san sighed. "If you say so, Teppei. But know that this is all on you," she warned. "You should be glad no one got seriously hurt. Thankfully, Young Master Akashi-kun handled the rest quickly before the noise caught the attention of nearby townspeople."
Kiyoshi-san laughed again, this time more smug. "I don't regret my decision now and I probably won't in the future, but that's fine. Young Master Akashi takes care of us in his own way." His tone turned serious. "Don't you think I was cool like a superhero? Hey?"
"Whatever. Now come here," Riko-san beckoned. "A little Hyuuga told me you managed to escape your therapy session again."
"Haha…I can explain?"
"You sneaky little…"
I decided now was an inconvenient time to return Kiyoshi-san's manga. Escaping as swift as the wind, I left the doorway shadow and strode toward Teiko's main lobby out from the Seirin wing.
Coming upon the middle of their conversation was an accident, but the subject had caught my attention.
So this is a mature conversation between close people, I thought, a little happy.
The bickering banter seemed more endearing rather than angry. They spoke to one another in a joking manner, not meaning what they say with words that would otherwise be filled with poison (except for the end of the conversation. There was true anger there, rightfully so).
Last night was tense after I inquired about Kagami-kun's next meal. He had outright refused despite his protesting stomach. I had promised him I would save him a seat and leftover food for later and in the morning.
Doctor Alex had helped me set up Nigou's things in the farthest room from Kagami-kun at his vehement request. When I told Doctor Alex what Kagami-kun said, she only smiled briefly and exclaimed at the quality of the food.
"This is much better than the convenience store brands, although I would probably add a tinge of salt," she said, patting my back sympathetically. "It's pretty good for an amateur. Well done, Kuroko."
Feeling I had accomplished something important, I let her finish dinner as I explored the rest of the rooms. The main front area contained colorful, neglected furniture I assumed were meant for children along with non-hazardous toys in chests.
After reading the scribbles of blue and red that were only identifiable by the barely legible names next to them, I recognized the pictures as drawings of Kagami-kun and Tetsuya. In several works, the children misspelled Kagami-kun's first name and wrote "Tiger" instead, which made me smile. The blue blobs and scribbles all were written with "Tetsu-nii". It made me sad these children no longer came by because the daycare center remained closed.
There were two other rooms separate from the kitchen inside the home besides Kagami-kun's. One was locked and the other looked barely lived in, too clean to think it was left like it was. It might have contained items relating to Tetsuya, but were probably taken away or thrown out. Some might have been in the pile that was once in Kagami-kun's room. Besides the locked room, there was not much else to explore.
The night was long. Nigou slept soundly in his bed and Kagami-kun stayed in his enclosed closet. Doctor Alex and I silently left and decided to head back toward the center.
"Ah, that was good to kick back and not do paperwork for once!" Doctor Alex sighed as she stretched her arms accompanied by the faint sound of joints popping. She huddled her jacket closer to her, gazing up at the clear night stars. "Teiko is perfect for relaxation. That was the reason for establishing the Teiko Rehab center in a town like this, did you know?"
I thought that reasonable. "It is, certainly."
"It's kind of unfortunate that with the arrival of vacation folk, come the dishonest members of society." Doctor Alex tsked and puffed into the chilly air disapprovingly. "Delinquents and shadows always come out when the sun goes down."
To her unmasked resentment, I intended to relay what I saw today regarding the three suited men, when a silhouette even taller than Doctor Alex emerged from an alley as if in wait for us. We were within a close distance of the bright entrance of the center, so it was suspicious how he stopped us where others couldn't see.
"Hey, hey, woman, you don't need to be talking smack about people you don't even know." The man, all cornrows and arrogant smirks, gazed hungrily at the doctor like she was less than her degree. "See, I'm a nice guy! Haizaki Shougo, the nicest fellow in town. Why don't I show you how wonderful a man I am tonight?" His teeth bared unnervingly white in the dark.
"Back to hell, punk," Doctor Alex said low and threatening, a complete 180 from earlier that evening. Her hostility surfaced easily, like she had dealt in similar situations before. She raised her voice as she glanced furtively at the entrance. "I'm going to call security if you make even a move in our direction."
Haizaki-san raised an eyebrow like he was entertaining a child. "Oh, really?" He waved a hand behind him and more silhouettes appeared. Their smirks and amused chuckles put me on edge.
Suddenly, Haizaki-san snatched out a hand and lifted Doctor Alex by the neck.
"What are they going to do about this, huh?" He laughed and the others joined him.
"Kuro…ko…go get…Tatsu!" Doctor Alex wheezed with the short amount of breath she had, clutching at his fingers.
"Kuro? Who's that?" Haizaki-san asked, still laughing.
"Now!" she ordered as her face began to turn red. "You…can do this on your own!"
Her condition and plea made me freeze. What was wrong with me? I should have listened to her and called for help immediately.
But…those words...
"You don't need me. You can do this on your own. You were a xxxx person before…. You don't need a 'xxxx' when you're already-"
"Don't say it," I murmured unconsciously. I fell to my knees and my eyes grew wide and strangely more dim, the words I've never heard spoken to me echoing as if they were put up to my ears through speakers.
"Huh?" Haizaki-san followed Doctor Alex's gaze and saw me crouching. "When did you-"
I lifted my head and my eyes zoomed in on the opening between Doctor Alex and Haizaki-san through some tunnel vision. She noticed my intention and kicked off from his grip to collapse to the ground. In the next split second, the palm of my hands made contact with his solar plexus.
He coughed up dryly as he flew back into his posse of fellow punks.
"What the hell happened?" one of them yelled, struggling to lift up the barely conscious Haizaki-san. Another member, in the spur of the moment, rose and ran toward me.
"Who cares? This guy came out of nowhere and thinks he can fuck with us!"
As he ran clumsily in a straight line, it was easy to settle on weak points to aim for. My body automatically prepared to give another hit, fists poised as he came within jumping distance, until a large hand gripped my wrist.
"That's enough, Kuroko-kun."
My vision cleared a bit, enough to identify the person as Kiyoshi-san.
"Kiyo…"
With the gentlest touch, he moved his hand to my forehead as if he was simply taking my temperature. I paused entirely, entranced with the movement of his hand and the warmth it radiated. It was hotter than what I perceived as normal body heat.
"It's late," Kiyoshi-san said with a smile. A groan and several shouts could be heard in the background, but his soft, laughing voice spoke over them. "Let's go to sleep for now."
He pressed lightly above my eyes and I embraced rest.
A/N pt 2:
This chapter was going to be longer, until I realized I could separate it and extend the second part on its own. Short, but action packed; a true superhero comes to save the day!