Whispering Fireworks

Chapter 11

Akashi predicted correctly. Hanabi was not in Kyoto, and was not waiting for their arrival. They were transferred safely and secretly back to their isolated residence. The entire journey was tense and silence, except for a few arguements over food. Murasakibara had only wanted to buy snacks (Akashi didn't let him), Aomine only wanted twenty-three teriyaki burgers, Midorima refused to get anything unhealthy, so the burgers were out of the question, Kuroko was willing to eat anything as long as it came with a vanilla shake, and Akashi wanted Tofu Soup, his favorite dish.

In the end, after several minutes or arguing, Akashi had Aomine stop the car at the nearest convenience store and the redhead got out of the car without a word. When he came back, he was holding six granola bars and threw one for everybody. "That's your lunch. Anybody who argues will be thrown out the window." And the issue was resolved.

"Good to be home," Aomine grumbled, flopping himself onto the couch. "Oi, Tetsu, where's your dog?"

"I left him with Kagami-kun to be taken care of." Kuroko collapsed onto the recliner.

"Check on every one of your cities before setting in," Akashi ordered. He was already heading over to his room. "That includes you, Tetsuya. You will now be in charge of half of the Tokyo Prefecture."

"All right," Aomine said gleefully. "Less work to do."

"Daiki, arrangements have already been made. You will now be handling the western part of Tokyo from the Imperial Palace. Tetsuya-the rest." Akashi closed his door and went to get the reports from Kyoto.

Seeing everybody in their rooms, Kuroko—hesitantly—went to his own room and approached the large, black screen on his wall. It was the first thing he noticed in his room, but didn't know what is was for, so he had curtains implanted to cover it. Now, he could guess its use.

A hand-scan was waiting beside the flat screen. He put his pale hand against it. His hand was scanned quickly, and an automatic voice burst in his room:

"State your name."

Kuroko blinked twice. "Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Connecting."

The screen lit up, nearly blinding him, and a young, agitated man came up. His figure was distorted for a few seconds before it cleared. ". . . Kuroko-san? Kuroko-san, sir? Sir?"

"Yes?" Kuroko tried to answer. He wondered if he was being recorded or videotaped.

The young man sighed in relief. "We're through!" he called to the noise in the back. "It's an honor to meet you, Kuroko-san. Akashi-san has reassigned half of Tokyo's troops to you. I am First Lieutenant Hoshino Ayumu, in charge of the fifth platoon."

"I am glad to meet you," Kuroko said formally, and wished he was out of the room. He didn't have any experience in leading orders to hundreds of men. "I hope to work well with you." The young man didn't reply, and the two stood in silence, confused. The young man confused, because he was awaiting orders, and Kuroko confused, because he didn't know why nothing was being said. Finally realizing the lieutenant was waiting for his command, he said, "Please give me a report on Tokyo."

"Hai. There were no surprise attacks, or any for that matter, during your day gone. We've tightened the security on outer borders of Tokyo, but there was no movement from Hanabi." The man paused and looked at his papers in his hand. "Ah-h, but we are running low on medical supplies. Can you please inform Midorima-san to send a restock on supplies as soon as possible?"

"Yes," Kuroko answered, since it was the only thing he could say.

"That's all to report, sir."

"Then . . . Thank you, Hoshino-kun."

"I look forward to working with you, sir." The connection disconnected.

Kuroko watched as the screen slowly faded and drew the curtains so it covered the screen again. Then he walked out of his room, and found everybody else was done with their prefectures already.

"No attacks on my end," Aomine yawned, walking down the hallway, just behind Akashi.

"There was no movement," Kuroko quietly said.

"Clear in Akita, Aka-chin," Murasakibara yawned.

Kise bounced in front of Akashi and made it to the living room first. "None in Kanagawa! We've also recruited more men, and they're in the process of training now."

"Midorima-kun, Tokyo is in need of more medical supplies."

"I have already sent it. They're on our way as we speak."

Abruptly, five stomach growls filled the living room. It went silent. Aomine scowled with discontent. Midorima coughed and looked away, a small blush on his face. Kise pressed his lips together. Murasakibara frowned and laid a large hand on his stomach. Akashi acted as if nothing happened, but he too discreetly touched his stomach briefly.

Kuroko was the only one not hungry.

"Aka-chin, I can make something for everybody," Murasakibara suggested.

"Yes, that would be most helpful," Akashi said coolly. The giant made his way to the kitchen. "As for everyone, we'll be discussing our next movement toward Hanabi."

They all took a random seat in the living room. Kise lay sprawled on the couch, and Akashi sat at his head. Kuroko sat on the floor in front of Kise, and Aomine and Midorima sat on the chairs.

"You know," Kise started with a sorrowful voice. "Haizaki said he used live humans."

"Yes," their leader replied. "He must have sacrificed hundreds of humans in his experiments to perfect them to what they are now."

"Then those attacks for the past few weeks—they are just distractions," Aomine said bitterly.

Midorima nodded. "Haizaki couldn't risk having us know he was creating something to destroy us, of course. He must have predicted Kuroko would join us instead of Hanabi, and needed another way to kill the Generation of Miracles."

"That's disgusting," Kise whispered. "Those humans—how could he?"

Akashi laid a pale hand over Kise's forehead in a try of comfort before taking it away. He couldnt deny it. It was disgusting; inhumane. And they would have to kill those humans, because they were under Haizaki's control.

"Even if it's disgusting, Kise-kun, there's no helping it," Kuroko said. "It's done. Haizaki-kun has them under his control."

"Didn't I tell you he doesn't deserve an honorific, Tetsu?" Aomine spat angrily.

"It's impolite not to do so when I do not know him," Kuroko countered. "I don't know Haizaki-kun's past actions. The only information I do know is he is the leader of Hanabi."

Aomine scoffed. "Isn't that enough to tell you he's a bastard?"

"No, Daiki," Akashi interrupted. "Tetsuya is right. He needs to know the history of Haizaki Shougo. Ryouta, you still don't know his full story, correct?"

Kise brought an arm over his eyes. "All I know is he used to be a part of the Generation of Miracles, but Akashicchi kicked him out because he was too violent. I replaced him a year later."

"Your training as a child was slower than others," Akashi said. "That is the only reason why Haizaki had to join the Generation of Miracles. If you had developed your ability faster, you would have been the one to join first."

Kise flinched at the word 'training'. His childhood memories were not the best. In fact, they were scarred in his memories and body. Only Aomine and Akashi knew the horrors of his past, and he wanted it kept that way.

"Ahn . . . I was only able to make a simple meal for everybody," Murasakibara said, carrying a tray of six bowls of rice and meat in his hands.

"That's more than enough. Thank you, Atsushi." The bowls were passed out, and Aomine started devouring his meal instantly. "Smaller bites, Daiki. You'll ruin your digestive system."

"Keh. What are you, my mom?" At Akashi's stare, the ganguro gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine then, Mother." A reappearance of Akashi's scissors had him shut up.

Midorima ignored them, carefully studying Kise and Kuroko before starting his story. "Haizaki was always violent," he said regretfully. "Before Hanabi, there were still many selfish and greedy people who wished to control the four lifelines. In order for the Generation of Miracles to be complete, we needed a total of five, gifted people." He looked at Akashi, then Aomine, then Kise, and then Murasakibara. His usual cool expression withdrew from his face, and revealed a sullen, scarred teen. "Aomine, Murasakibara, Akashi, and I were picked immediately from the Japanese government. They foresaw our training since birth and provided many, special stimulations to control our ability to the maximum.

"There were six of us in total. The government could not afford focusing on six people at once at the time. Even trained, we were clueless to organization, leading an army, strategies . . . our first kill." Midorima stopped talking abruptly and ripped off his glasses. His hand pressed against his eyes hard, his head bowed.

"That's enough, Shintarou," Akashi excused him. "I will explain."

" . . . Thank you."

Akashi gathered his words before he spoke, "As Shintarou said, the Japanese government couldn't further train and teach six persons at the same time. Ryouta . . . and Haizaki were the last ones to be considered. The government was not allowed to reveal our own abilities to us until we activated it ourselves. Ryouta was slower than the rest of us, and Haizaki should have been the one chosen immediately."

Kise took a shuddering breath and put both hands over his face. Kuroko could feel the tension and horrors in the air. Akashi shook his head. "Haizaki was not chosen immediately. They knew Ryouta's abilities were extremely close to Haizaki's, and his potential was endless compared to Haizaki. Countries were competing with Japan, however, especially America. America had their own secret government, gathering their own group. They stalled the final decision—Ryouta did not improve fast enough. "

"So the bastard was chosen," Aomine flatly said. "And we had the four life lines in our possession, representing for Japan."

Kuroko interrupted quickly, "Where did Kise-kun go, then?"

"I was kept back," Kise said. "They took my training to a higher level, a theory of 'beating my potential' out of me. I was kept as a replacement, in case one of the members died." He showed no further indication to answer more of the question, so Akashi continued.

"Haizaki did not object to my position as leader, but he did have a problem with taking orders." Akashi pinched the bridge of his nose. "He was not stable. He attacked without thinking; killed his enemies ruthlessly without thought. His victims were joyful for death. The government were pleased in the beginning: they had sought for a vicious killer, but he caused problems for us."

"What problems?" Kuroko asked.

"Publicity problems, Kuro-chin," Murasakibara answered. "Haizaki killed his enemies without Aka-chin's permission, and it was usually in front of a crowd. We had to use the government to change stories and manipulate the public's viewing of it. And, most of Haizaki's victims were innocent."

"Haizaki didn't give them the privilege of an interrogation," Kise whispered. "They were just tortured on the spot."

Akashi said grimly, "I warned and punished Haizaki many times during his stay in the Generation of Miracles, but it was for naught. When it came to the point I would kick him off, Haizaki attacked me."

"Haizaki-k—Haizaki attacked Akashi-kun?"

"It was a short fight," Midorima finally interjected. "Even when Haizaki was powerful, Akashi was stronger. Akashi restrained him quickly, and forced Haizaki to leave the Generation of Miracles."

"And then Kise-kun came in, and Hanabi was made?"

Aomine nodded. "Yeah. He wanted revenge on Akashi, and was determined to show 'our way' was weak. He gathered all of the small organizations that planned on taking the energies from us, and killed off all the others when they didn't cooperate."

Midorima stood up with an empty bowl in his hands. "I'm done. I will be in my room for the rest of the evening."

"No, you will not," Akashi cut in. "You will stay here and face it now, Shintarou."

The greenhead looked dismayed. "What is there to face, Akashi?"

Akashi's eyes flashed. "You very well know what you have been running from since twelve years ago. It's time to stop turning your back like a coward."

"A coward? Me?" Midorima asked, suddenly harsh. "I can do what I want with my problems, Akashi, and I am not running away."

"It won't help to ignore it," Akashi said fiercely. "It is time to face your fears, Shintarou. Do you think you are the only one who suffers? Ignoring the past will not make it disappear."

"I am not ignoring the past!" Midorima shouted, his composed façade slipping. "I have accepted it; there's nothing more that's needed!"

Akashi sucked in his breath. "If you naively think—"

"Akashi-kun." Kuroko's quiet voice silenced the room. Blue eyes glared at the redhead. "Don't force Midorima-kun to do what he doesn't want to do. It's unfair."

Aomine choked on his tea and spat out the rest in his cup. Kise coughed violently with his rice and turned red. Murasakiara swiveled his head quickly toward Kuroko. Even Midorima forgot about his anger, staring at Kuroko as if he had grown two heads. Kuroko wondered if he had rice on his face.

Akashi sat still, staring at the window in front of him blankly. His face was rid of all emotions. There was a dormant anger that brewed in his heterochromatic eyes, but the other four knew it would not stay dormant for long. Midorima saw his chance, put his bowl down on the table, and started to walk out of the room. Before he turned the corner where the Generation of Miracles would no longer see him, he stiffly said a soft, "Thank you, Kuroko."

The three also took the chance. Aomine put his bowl down and practically ran out of the room. He gave a second's glance to Kuroko before leaving, "Good luck, Tetsu."

Kise was next. He bounded out, sending a swift, "I'll pray for you, Kurokocchi!"

Murasakibara after. "Rest in peace, Kuro-chin."

Kuroko tilted his head, confused. Why was everybody sending him a death wish? Had he said something wrong? He looked at Akashi—and received his answer. The redhead has not moved, even when the rest were trying to escape. Anger was still evident in his tight, chiseled face. Hesitantly, Kuroko climbed up from the floor and sat on the couch, two cushions away from Akashi.

The consternation in the silent atmosphere was too much for Kuroko to bear, especially because he was not the one emitting the tense and awkward waves. Akashi showed no sign of moving or talking—it was as if he was trying to take control of his self before he lashed out. Kuroko sunk deeper into the couch. "I'm sorry, Akashi-kun," he sighed. "I shouldn't have demanded things the way I did to you. But I'm not sorry for telling you to stop pushing Midorima-kun," he quickly added. "It's not fair to force someone to face their own fears. They are fears for a reason, Akashi-kun."

Akashi didn't answer. Kuroko turned his body and tried to continue, "Akashi-kun. Akashi-kun. Akashi-kun."

Akashi finally twisted his body, and Kuroko could now see the true exhaustion hidden beneath the anger. The Generation of Miracles' leader was tired—simply tired. Leading a five—now six—man-army was Akashi's own job, along with many others that his team members did not need to worry about. Did the Generation of Miracles know this? Did they know their own leader hid their fatigue and exhausted mentality?

Slowly and deliberately, Kuroko came closer and took Akashi's pale hand with both of his. "Akashi-kun," he said. "Let's go for a walk in Kyoto."

The offer was enough to bring slight amusement to Akashi's face. "And what good will a walk do, Tetsuya?" The anger was gradually dissipating.

"In the past few weeks that I've lived here, I haven't had the chance to explore Kyoto," Kuroko said. "And I feel like you owe me a tour."

"I owe you?" Akashi raised eyebrows. Kuroko only nodded. With an inaudible, exasperated sigh, Akashi withdrew his hand and stood from the couch. "Very well. We will go on a walk."

Sliding into their coats, the two silently walked out of the house, intending to go on the promised tour.

Kise and Aomine peeked from their rooms, and then glanced at each other in wonder. The living room had been silent for the past several minutes. There were no screams of pain, or pleas of help, or even evil laughter. What was going on? Did Akashi kill Kuroko so unexpectedly, the tealhead didn't even have time to scream?

"Want to go out and check, Aominecchi?" Kise whispered.

"Only if you go with me," Aomine whispered back.

Quietly, the two idiots padded down the hallway and dared to look into the living room. "There's no blood," Aomine announced, scanning the room. "And Akashi is nowhere to be found."

"No body or weapons either," Kise chirped. He checked under pillows and chairs to look for any missing body parts. When he went to the kitchen, he noticed something strange. "Look, Aominecchi," he pointed to the rack where all the shoes were stored. "Kurokocchi's and Akashicchi's walking shoes are gone!"

Aomine dropped his pillow. "So that means . . ."

"Akashicchi kidnapped Kurokocchi to torture him more secretly!" Kise cried.

Aomine and Kise looked at each other, horrified, and simultaneously exclaimed, "We got to save him!"

Murasakibara sat in his room and shook his head, listening to all the commotion outside. "Mine-chin and Kise-chin aren't too bright . . . "

~Setting Skip~

"A table for two," Akashi said to the waiter. They were in a small, private café that served one of the best coffees in Kyoto. While Akashi wasn't a big fan of coffee, Kuroko was, and so they decided to make their first stop at a café. The place was quiet and comfortable, perfect for the two teens.

They were led to the back table, beside the windows. Kuroko ordered a coffee while Akashi ordered a light pastry for both.

"What is this place called?" Kuroko asked, having missed the sign of the café.

"Takagi Coffee," Akashi said. "There are many cafés throughout the Kyoto prefecture. This one has a more western culture influence to its menu."

"It's nice." Kuroko pretended to look outside the window for a bit, before asking, "Akashi-kun, when were you born?"

Akashi placed his chin on his hand and studied Kuroko's face. "Where is this coming from? I was born on December twentieth, or so I've been told."

Kuroko frowned. "So not even your date of birth is certain? Nothing of your past is concrete?"

"Nothing is truly concrete." Akashi thanked the waiter as their ordered items were set on the table. "But yes, facts about ourselves as children are never certain."

Kuroko absent-mindedly stirred his coffee after pouring in six sugars. He was about to pour in a seventh when Akashi stopped him. "That must not feel right," he said, still stirring. "I feel I've been privileged to have been born normally, and I can retain some memories when I was a child. Okaa-san and Otou-san died early, but I remember them." He paused, and then looked up to the redhead. "What's your favorite food, Akashi-kun?"

Said teen shook his head, amused, and broke his pastry in half. He put the other half on a napkin and passed it to Kuroko. "Why the sudden interest in me, Tetsuya?" He bit a small piece of the pastry, testing if it was too sweet or not. His second bite showed it wasn't sweet.

Kuroko gave a slight intake of breath through his nose. He released it through his mouth. "I want to know more about Akashi-kun. It's unfair that Akashi-kun has physically looked me up without permission, so you know a lot about me."

"You seem to be voicing all the unfairness of the world," Akashi commented. "And while it's uncommon for someone to ask, my favorite—Tetsuya, keep your head down and do not question me. Now."

The change of words and tone had Kuroko ducking without hesitation. He kept his head low from the window and peeked one eye out to spy on Akashi. The redhead was also keeping low, but was watching two, peculiar men on the streets. The men were in strange clothing—too nice to be worn out in the streets of Kyoto. Their weapons that set on their hips gave them away though.

Discreetly, Akashi pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hai, Akashi-san?" came the receiver.

"There are two Hanabi men in Kyoto. How did they pass the border?" Akashi asked coldly.

The phone was silent. "I-I don't know, sir," the man stammered. "W-we weren't aware—"

"Find all Hanabi intruders and get rid of them," he ordered. "If I see one more intruder, there will be consequences." He snapped the phone shut.

Kuroko could only imagine what people were thinking of them now, but it didn't matter. Hanabi was here. They were attacking so early already?

Akashi waited until the men were out of sight. "It's all right now, Tetsuya," he said and raised his head. "The guards will take care of it. I doubt they're trying to attack. I will not let this ruin the tour." He stood up and smoothened his clothes. "Come," he said. "We've spent too much time here."

"The coffee—"

"You can order another one later." Akashi put a few bills on the table before leading Kuroko out of the shop.

~Setting Skip~

"Sir, all communication with the patrols has been cut. It's safe to assume the Generation of Miracles has gotten to them."

Haizaki leaned back in his chair at the news. Scowling, he tapped his fingers slowly against the desk. "So you didn't get any new information on Kyoto?"

"Yes, sir. We did not get any new information."

"Damn. Seijuro and his wall of defenses," Haizaki sighed loudly. "We need some leverage on those little shits! I thought the new army would put a dent to them, but it's not enough! Damn it." The ex-Generation of Miracles' member put his chin to his hand, thinking. "I was wrong. I do need Tetsuya. I doubt they'd let him go easily though. They guard him like he's the most noblest prize of them all."

"Well, why don't we capture the blond one?" the guard suggested. "He seemed weak enough at the battle yesterday. And they won't be expecting it. We can offer a trade for the Kuroko Tetsuya kid."

"Ryouta, eh?" Haizaki smirked. "That's actually not a bad idea." The room went silent for a moment. "All right. It's decided. Make preparations to set a trap for the Generation of Miracles. We'll capture Ryouta from there. Dismissed."

The guard bowed. "Hai. We will prepare right away." Haizaki gave a cruel, pleased smile.

Author

I'm yet again out of town, but I had brought a laptop with me to update. I had 3,000 words done before I went on vacation. I had everything backed up. Then I decided to write 7,000 words in one sitting. Finished the chapter, went to upload it until-Computer crashed. Internet went down.

7,000 words lost. I admit it; I actually broke down in tears. That was so frustrating, and I actually wanted to quit writing this story. After a few days, I forced myself to write again, but I was only able to write about 700 more words. Oh well, this is flowing smoothly.

Thanks for being patient.

~Virelei