Break 24: Past Obligation

When past ties to present, uncertainty is certain.

The two days prior to her departure to Kyoto did nothing to quell her nerves. It was bad, she knew it was, if her old captain was on her mind more than her parents were it was not a good thing. That demon of a captain had managed to work his way into her life. It was bad enough her parents liked him so much, but he had the nerve to use it.

Akashi Seijuro was not a person to be crossed if you valued your life on a material plane. Everyone had learned that by the second year of middle school. And when he snapped and went from 78% insane to 100% (plus some jerk traits give or take a few), it was hell. Now as she sat alone on a train to Kyoto, all Kaed could do was contemplating her life so far. It was odd how the control freak dictator served as a trigger-everything from her middle school days came crashing into her mind. Everything came back; from her meeting with Kuroko to all her arguments with Kise. And it was all so clear in her head, the worst memories made her flinch. Of course they did, Akashi had known everything after all.

As long as he didn't show up in the near future, she'd be fine. After starting high-school, the guilt had been locked away in the back of her mind. But now, it was starting to creep back into her thoughts, she began second guessing her decisions. What's done is done, nothing could change that, she shook it out of her head. Just so long as it stayed quiet, nothing would change, right?

On second thought, why was she even thinking so much? It had never bothered her like this before…in fact she could have cared less about him back then, that's why she had done it. Now, now she just felt terrible about it. Kuroko had been a big help, but now she hardly saw the phantom anymore. And the idiot's incessant mentions of him did not help at all. Okay, bad thoughts out of the way, no thinking of that until forced to.

Shifting her thoughts to a less…emotional subject, Kaed's mind drifted to her best friend (and no not the self-proclaimed one). Etsu, she was always there even when Kaed didn't want her there, huh, some pattern going on right there. The petite girl with her constant fangirling and…shipping. Now that she thought of it, Kaed never knew what her friend's OTP was even though she was always muttering about it.

Speaking of OTPs, her sister had yet again vented to her about how she wished she was her age so she could go out with Kise (and how cute a couple Momoi and Kuroko would make). To someone who knew him, it was a wonder why anyone would want to spend the rest of their life with such a clingy, crybaby, annoying, idiot like him. The rest of the Generation of Miracles could vouch for that.

Oh, yeah there was Kise too. And the thought of him made her think back to her original train of thought. Great, now she was feeling guilty again. Better thoughts, better thoughts, she repeated in her head. So, what were some better thoughts? That was a hard one considering how utterly annoying she found him. But like his sisters had said, there had to be something that kept them 'friends' using the term in the loosest way possible. She supposed it was because of his ceaseless bugging, yeah that was it. He just needed someone to listen to him while he chattered away. Yet another thing she could blame Akashi for, sticking her with the dorky blond. It wasn't even her decision to go to the same school as him! There had been so much more going on that he wasn't aware of.

In fact, she never really liked him anyway and the feeling was mutual. She often wondered what had changed over the years they had known each other. Going from disdain and reprisal to fondness and grudging tolerance. They had quite the vitriolic relationship she concluded, though it was a bit one-sided when it came to the vitriol on her part…to her it was downright strange. She never was one for public displays of affection (something the blond seemed to frequent), and with his relentless clinging it was sad to say that she no longer had the reflex to immediately throw someone off. Though now she was feeling the slightest bit sorry for all the times she made him cry...

A few seconds ticked by before realization hit her brain. Eyes snapping open, she slapped her forehead. Was she really thinking that much about Kise?! Either she was going crazy or he had somehow managed to figure out a way to annoy her without even being there. And why was she feeling sorry? He had it coming! But then again he was one of the few people to get her to laugh without it being a snicker…and he managed to get a full hug without getting kicked…and he somehow could annoy the heck out of her, get criticized and insulted and keep coming back. That was something only a person used to getting rejected by people (Kuroko and the rest of them) could handle. She did have to give him some credit. Wait…and she just complimented him oh no, not happening. She had a reputation to keep up. There was no way some clingy idiot was going to change that.

She was spending way too much time around them Kaed decided. Etsu and his optimism were rubbing off on her. Which actually made things worse if she was seeing Akashi soon…and everything would go downhill.

Thinking proved to be quite tiring (especially once she started arguing with herself), and she had fallen asleep somewhere along the line. The trip didn't take as long as getting to Akita did (which she was thankful for) averaging at around 3 hours and 15 minutes. As was the norm with her family, they always had to be near some gathering place, i.e: the train station. As such, her parents hadn't even bothered to greet her, knowing full well it would be better if she walked by herself considering the recent strain in relationship caused by the sudden move.

Now standing in front of a small, but cozy looking home, she sighed. Bag slung over her shoulder, she hesitantly knocked on the door. The sound of footsteps was heard as was the click of the lock unlocking. The sight that greeted her was her own mother, middle-aged but still retaining a youthful grace in her movements, mouth formed into a small smile.

Kaed allowed herself to be pulled into a brief hug by her mother as she stepped into the house. No words were exchanged until the two of them were seated at the small dining table meant for four, with a cup of steaming tea within reach.

Her mother spoke first, voice soft, "You're father's doing business again so he won't be home for another two days," tone apologetic she went on, "He would much rather be here but it was very important and on short notice."

Taking a quick sip of tea (flinching at the heat but savoring the flavor) before replying, Kaed kept her expression neutral, seeing this coming from a mile away. "I understand," she said sparsely.

She didn't even bother to ask anymore, it had always been like this. Her family was constantly moved around due to the nature of her father's work as an attorney, him being hired by various contractors. In fact the longest time they, as a family, were situated was when she had gone to Teiko, with a whopping three years. Though she had figured it had less to do with schooling and more with the fact one of her father's frequent employer's son went there. This was no other than Akashi Seijuro, someone Kaed hadn't known was involved with her family until well into their years at Teiko. It hadn't come as a pleasant surprise considering the bittersweet relations they had built.

Her mother's fingers drumming the wood snapped her out of her thoughts. "So how is your sister?" she asked, clasping her hands together, around the warm teacup.

"She's doing well, more busy now that's she has a job though," Kaed spared the fine details.

The slightest frown tweaked her mother's lips down, she clearly was not happy with her daughter's short replies. Nevertheless she pressed on, "How are you doing with school?"

"Well, the same as usual. You know this so why are you asking?" Kaed flicked her eyes from the green-tinged liquid in the cup to her mother's face, scanning for any hints.

Her mother pursed her lips, considering how to put her thoughts into words. "Look, your father and I have been thinking," she paused briefly, "that maybe it would be a good idea to have you move in with us; permanently."

Taken aback by her mother's announcement, all Kaed could do was stare at her incredulously, "How can you even consider that? After all this time now you care about where I'm living and going to school?" Her tone was contained but there was a sharp edge behind her words.

Letting out a deep breath and closing her eyes, her mother spoke again. "We only have your best interests at heart. I understand that by now you've probably grown attached, but now that you're older we think that maybe it's time for you to get your priorities in mind. I know that no matter what you choose, you will be successful, but you need a good foundation. Kaijou is a good school, but you could do better," she said calmly.

"Kaa-san," Kaed said, an unexpected force backing her voice, "I can't just transfer like this between semesters. And I actually have friends there; do you really want to toss me back out there like that?"

Standing up, her mother sighed, "We can talk about this later. Do you want me to help you get settled?"

"No thank you, I can do it myself," the younger female said tightly, slipping out of her seat and grabbing her bag, heading to the guest room where she would be staying. As she had come around sunset, the only light from outside came from the streetlamps lining the walkways. Flicking the light switch, she set eyes on her temporary housing. It was a small room, with a dresser, closet, lamp, and bed, all plainly furnished. Setting her bag down, she began to unpack mechanically.

Dinner went by quickly and silently, barely a word was spoken between the two. Finished and worn out, Kaed fell onto the bed without even a sound and her mind faded to a blank.

Her frustrations not being gone by morning was an understatement. After washing up and dressing, she had gone into the living room only to find a note on the table. It read: I'll be out until evening make yourself at home and feel free to explore the neighborhood. It was short and to the point. Kaed bit back a curse, invite her all the way out here and simply leave her alone? Her opinion of her parents wasn't rising anytime soon.

Without much to do, she found herself flipping through channels and random books she found scattered around the house. Nearly falling asleep on the couch in boredom, she thought about her options. Under normal circumstances she would have gone to the street basketball court or called up Etsu. But here she really didn't feel like hunting around for a court and everyone she knew (that she actually didn't mind) were back in a different prefecture.

By the time noon rolled around and she had scraped together a plain meal of leftover rice and fish, Kaed was contemplating going back to bed. In fact, she had just stood up from the table to do just that when a knock came from the door. Assuming it to be a neighbor or something, she didn't think much of it and went to answer. Opening the door and laying eyes on the figure, she stiffened and almost slammed the door shut. The only thing keeping her from doing so was the fear of repercussion. Steadying herself, Kaed let out a breath to control her breathing.

The visitor smirked, noting her uneasy demeanor. "Long time no see," his smirk became all the more wicked, "Sumiko."

Fingers tightening on the door, Kaed nodded, "Akashi-san," her voice was tight, "what brings you here?"

"I heard you were in the neighborhood," he said casually, "I figured I would come and say 'hi'."

Eying the former Teiko captain warily, Kaed relaxed her shoulders, "Akashi-san, you aren't the type to make house visits unless you want something," she chose her words carefully, making sure not to trip over her tongue.

His smug expression never faded, "Oh? I suppose I do want something," he said simply, "Take a walk with me." It was quite clear it was not a request, it was an order.

Within a minute, Kaed had slipped her shoes on and locked the door behind her. Keeping a close eye on the red-head, she made sure to stay on her guard. The two of them walked down the street briskly in silence, while Kaed took the time to examine Akashi closer. He hadn't changed much from the last time she had seen him, same red hair and heterochromatic eyes and aura that boasted authority. What really had her somewhat annoyed was that he was taller than her now, not by much but still taller. She sighed, looks like she'll have to get used to not being the one doing the looking down on.

"I know you aren't one to beat around the bush so I'll get straight to the point," Akashi said eyes trained ahead, "Your new friends aren't telling you everything."

Kaed regarded him in mild disbelief, "Why would you-?"

"Simple," he cut her off, "I think someone has ulterior motives," this was said with a sharp glance in her direction.

"I don't see what this has to do with anything," Kaed said, pausing briefly to clear her head, "Much less that."

"Well that did set everything off," his smirk widened, "How are Ryouta and Tetsuya?"

Having a feel for where this was headed, Kaed's posture went rigid, "They are fine, Kuroko-kun will defeat all of you," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"He couldn't even beat Daiki, I'm not worried," Akashi said, easily seeing through Kaed's weak attempt at shifting the subject. "You still haven't told him have you?"

"It's nothing he needs to know," Kaed said through gritted teeth, "It doesn't matter anymore, he isn't anywhere near here."

"Are you sure about that Sumiko?" Akashi asked, rather rhetorically, with a self-satisfied expression. "Wouldn't it be better if he found out from you instead of someone else?"

"He won't find out," Kaed said, "Almost no one knows what really went on and I'm not all that important anyhow," her voice was dry, "And what's with the sudden concern?"

Akashi's whole manner was bored when he replied, "Just looking out for an old friend," the tiniest mocking tone in the underlying sound.

Nearly scoffing, a cynical smile tugged her mouth up, "Nice to know you think so highly of me Akashi-san," she said, matching his own tone. By now Kaed was more than willing to match wits with him; in fact it was the safest way to go. Linking a few details together, a thought formed in her mind. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about why my parents suddenly wanted me to move in with them and started talking about my schooling would you?"

"Hm? That would require you to change schools wouldn't it?" he mused, tapping a finger to his chin, "I'd be more than happy to transfer you into Rakuzan."

"I knew it," Kaed muttered bitterly under her breath. It wasn't much of a shock that Akashi had something to do with it. "Why even bother with me? I am not much of anything."

His smirk turned into something much more psychotic (at least in Kaed's eyes) and superior. "That's where you're wrong Sumiko. You think you had nothing to do with it, but in actuality you knew more than anyone," he informed, "well, not counting me," he added rather smugly.

"If this is about that I want nothing to do with it now. It was in the past and it should stay there," Kaed said, refusing to waver.

"As you should already know, the past always comes back to haunt you," Akashi nearly sneered, and would have if he didn't have such a good poker face.

Biting her lip, Kaed cast her eyes down and spoke lowly, "Then I hope it comes back to bite you Akashi-san. I have no interest in making the same mistakes back then; and that means I can't let you control my life."

The red-haired boy pinned her with a harsh glare before smirking lightly, "I see…I do suppose it would be boring if you complied right away," he said nonchalantly. "But in the end, you'll see and you will come crawling right back. After all," he quickened his pace to get farther ahead, leaving a stagnant Kaed watching his back, "I always win so I'm always right."

It took a few minutes of standing on the side of the road before everything clicked together in her head. Regaining control of her feet, she scanned the area while trying to get her bearings. Akashi always had some detrimental effect on her usually lightning –fast thought process, and she had been very distracted by other things so she hadn't really been noting where they had been walking. "That damn-he just left me here!" Kaed grumbled; heading in what she assumed was the right direction.

Much to her relief it didn't take all that long for her to find the way back. Slipping off her shoes after entering, she immediately fell onto the couch in an uncoordinated fashion. Lying horizontal, her head rested on the armrest, feet hitting the floor at an angle. Bringing an arm to her forehead she sighed. Today was a day she really wished hadn't happened.

She inwardly berated herself on talking back to Akashi. It was like she was practically begging for a death wish. To her mild surprise, Akashi didn't whip out some random object turned weapon or start outright threatening her on the spot at any time during their conversation. The rest of her time was spent thinking on what had gone down up until her mother returned with several bags of groceries and other assorted items.

"Sumiko?" the woman questioned, "You don't look alright, is something the matter?"

Waving her off, Kaed replied thinly, "I just…ran into someone who I'd much rather forget about."

Her mother gave her one last concerned glance before organizing the kitchen.

Another day passed, albeit less eventfully. Soon enough the day her father was returning home came. He wouldn't arrive until the afternoon, so Kaed spent the day helping her mother around the house. The two didn't converse very much, keeping exchanges to the bare minimum. It was evident that the relative silence bothered her mother more than it did Kaed.

She had been finishing up the dishes when her mother ran to greet her father. She had glanced up meeting her father's eyes, and getting a small smile in return. When they were all seated together, her father took the initiative to break the silence. "I'm hoping you girls have more interesting stories to tell, I just sat and nearly slept through a bunch of meetings."

His words drew out a small giggle from her mother and a faint smile from Kaed. But the both of them shook their heads in unison. "No interesting stories…but," Kaed said, wanting a straight answer from someone who would give it to her, "why was Kaa-san telling me that you want me to move in with you?"

Letting out a sigh, her father scratched his head, "Well, we were thinking that maybe you might want to stay with us, your sister does have a lot on her plate right now. And Akashi-kun caught me when I was leaving from a meeting with his father and recommended his school, Rakuzan, if you were to come live with us. I'm assuming he must have overheard me mentioning that earlier on…"

"But I don't have to if I don't want to right?" Kaed asked tentatively.

Her father shook his head, "If you really like where you are now I suppose you could stay. But you should at least consider it," he said, "We have a lot of time to make up as a family."

"We don't want to force you into anything," her mother said, the most miniscule of smirks forming on her lips. "Fumiko actually was telling me the other day about a few of your friends, Kise-kun and Hiraoka-chan to be exact."

Kaed slapped a hand to her forehead, "And what exactly did she say?" she asked, somewhat exasperated.

Shrugging her mother replied lightly, "Just the basics, like how Hiraoka-chan is still the same as we remember her, and that Kise-kun has grown quite fond of you."

Kaed could see her father barely containing his chuckles; he was a sucker for any type of teasing, especially when it concerned his youngest daughter. "Ah," he sighed contentedly, "it's a big relief knowing that our reserved Sumiko has made some optimistic friends."

"Tou-san, Kaa-san," Kaed groaned, "can we please not start this discussion?"

.

The rest of the week went by quickly. Eventually, Kaed had somewhat warmed back up to her parents and conversation was less strained, not to say it still wasn't all that common. The name 'Akashi' hadn't been mentioned since her father first came back home. And the rest of the time she spent in Kyoto was rather relaxing. Though she wouldn't admit it, it felt nice having parents around again. Their good-byes weren't tearful but casual, as they were quite sure she would have to visit more often. Her parents seemed quite determined to make up for lost time with both her and her sister. Even so, Kaed remained skeptical. Though they were together, they never did any normal things families did. Most of their activities being housework.

Taking the train back, Kaed passed the time by looking out the windows and taking in the sights. The more rural areas were peaceful and reminded Kaed of an incident that had most likely set off her relationship thus far with Kise. It certainly was something to remember, especially when everyone else showed up…

It was one of her earlier and better memories of middle school. With a sigh, she leaned her head back on the glass, and then it hit her. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. It was odd, over the whole week she hadn't heard a peep from anyone in Kanagwa or Tokyo. Usually, someone would call or text just for the heck of it. Kuroko and she even exchanged calls almost once a week. What surprised her most was that neither Etsu nor Kise had tried to contact her; they were the ones who spammed her nearly every day.

Mulling it over, she wasn't able to come to any logical reasoning. They could have been busy, but the whole week? That was a bit suspicious. Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, she pulled out her music player and headphones to try and distract herself. Though she enjoyed music, she hardly ever used them anymore; taking long trips when her thoughts became too much was the only time she used them.

By the time she arrived back in Kanagawa near sunset, she had already gone through almost all her playlists. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she began the trek back trying to avoid thinking about what might have conspired while she was gone.

Unlocking the door to the house, she walked in and took her shoes off. "I'm home," she called into the house, rather from habit than conscious decision. Not hearing a reply from her sister, she glanced around and tuned her ears. Hearing a few sounds from the living-kitchen adjoined area she walked over, feet barely making a sound. Poking her head past the wall she called out again, "Aneue did you invite-?" Taking in the scene her jaw promptly dropped. "What are you doing here?!"

The woman with her sister placed her hands on her hips, lips pulled into a sardonic grin, "Now is that any way to greet your old coach?"

At present Kaed was now seated along with her sister and former coach at the table. "Okay, Kikuchi-sensei, can you please explain to me what is going on here? I thought you were in America."

Fingers toying with her wavy brown hair, she narrowed her eyes, "Kaed, I keep telling you to lay off the last name and honorific. No matter how much I hear it it's hard to get used to, you know how much I hate formality. Just stick to Azalea for goodness sakes."

"Right, Azalea," Kaed said carefully, "now can you explain why you're in my house?"

Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, Azalea answered casually, "My friend back in the States has been spending a lot of time teaching again and that brought back a few memories. So I figured I would come to Japan and see if I could track down my old students. As it just so happened I ran into your sister coming off the train and when I explained my situation she offered to let me stay in the guest room."

Slapping a hand to her head, Kaed shot her sister a glare, "Aneue, did you seriously invite my old coach to live with us?"

"What?" Fumiko said, "I didn't think you would mind, Azalea was always around back in elementary school."

"You do realize she's probably going to take over my training again and we all know how that ends," Kaed muttered, laying her elbows on the table's surface. Propping her head up on her palm, she regarded the other two females warily.

A light chuckle sounded from the tall and dryly smiling Azalea, "I thought you would have been glad to see me again, and learn a few new tricks maybe. Your sister has been filling me in on what you've been up to recently," with a knowing look cast in her (former) student's direction she went on, "It's nice to know you're still playing basketball. Any interesting players I should know about?"

"Well, there's the Generation of Miracles," Kaed supplied, wondering if her old teacher knew about them yet.

With a bored wave, Azalea snorted, "Been there done that, more like Generation of Arrogant A-," she stopped herself, "Jerks," she corrected, "if you ask me." Another wave of the hand was sent Kaed's way, "Any non-famous players I mean."

Thinking for a moment, Kaed snapped her fingers, "Kagami Taiga," she stated, "He actually used to live in America. But now he's gained some rep here by defeating two of the Generation of Miracles already."

"Hm," Azalea placed a hand to her chin, "red hair, weird eyebrows, kinda scary face?"

"Yeah," Kaed nodded, "do you know him?"

Azalea shook her head, "Not personally, but I think I know someone who does."

"Ah!" Fumiko exclaimed, "It's getting a bit late. Why don't the two of you get unpacked," she suggested, "I'm sure you both will want to get some sleep."

As if on cue, Azalea yawned, covering her mouth and stretching as she stood, "Now that you mention it…I am feeling a bit jet-lagged. Night Kaed, I'll start drawing up some training regimens for you to look at later." With that, the woman climbed upstairs and began making herself at home.

When she was out of ear-shot, Kaed turned to her sister with a menacing look, "Aneue," her voice was venomous and Fumiko looked a bit worried, "I cannot believe you just invited her to live with us."

A/N: Lots of time-skips and two introductions later this chapter has come to a close. The ending was a bit abrupt but it was the best I could do for now. So yes! Akashi has finally made an appearance and there was loads of hint dropping without actually clearing anything, I'll leave speculation up to you guys. And I think you all know who Azalea's 'friend' is. I just had to bring her in a bit earlier, mostly for the sake of getting a bit into the past at the same time. Now I just want to know: What do you readers think of everything that has happened thus far and into this chapter? I like hearing about people's speculations about the future (and past) so feel free to let your opinion be known.