Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basket is owned by Fujimaki Tadatoshi
Pairing: AkaKuro
A/N: Thanks to my reviewers: Kottori, AngelTricks, Akakuro Seiya, KurokoTetsuya101, Kuro13Dead, abbylovesmyungsoo, lumiere, Scarlet Aki-chin, shirobara1, EclipseKuran, Dark Cat Food Lover, Assasin8, Tamani, Naeme, fanlover18, Knight Yuuki, kawaiinekochan16, PrideViola, EchizenRyoma, Korunakuroko and 2 Guests. Thanks for the favorite and follow alerts, too.
「First Descent: Arc I」
Ninth Night: A Guardian's Fluke
Kuroko savored the cool, gentle breeze drifting through him and the soft chirping of the birds as he lay down on the grass in the garden below the shades of the trees. Closing his eyes, he tried to relax and calm his mind but it was futile as there were many thoughts running in his head and most of them not good.
"You okay?"
Kuroko opened his eyes and saw Aomine crouched down beside him with a worry expression on his face. He was distracted and didn't notice Aomine's presence until now. "Shouldn't it be me asking you that, Aomine-kun? How are your wounds?"
"Healed," Aomine grunted as he lay down beside Kuroko on the grass, his arms behind his head as pillows and they both watched the cloudy blue sky in comfortable silence.
Kuroko gave up and rested on his elbows and looked down at Aomine specifically his torso. "Are you sure?" he asked, uncertain.
Aomine glanced at him before lifting up his shirt, showing his unblemished stomach, no signs of scars or anything remotely resembling of his injuries last night. "See? I'm fine so stop worrying Tetsu."
Kuroko reached out and lightly touched Aomine's stomach with his fingers, his thoughts on how and why Aomine got hurt as his fingers softly stroked back and forth. He paused when he heard Aomine softly groaning and turned to him. "You protected them, didn't you?" he said.
Aomine's hand closed on Kuroko's wrist, stopping his fingers from the gentle brushes he was giving. "Jeez Tetsu," Aomine griped and let go of his hand, looking uncomfortable. Aomine cleared his throat as he sat up and gestured for him to do the same. "I didn't regret it. I'll do it again in a heartbeat. Better me than them. I can heal fast, they can't."
"I know that," Kuroko agreed. "I'm thankful for what you did. But it still doesn't assuage the guilt I'm feeling. You almost…almost…"
Aomine patted Kuroko on the head, softly ruffling his hair. "It takes more than a bullet to kill me Tetsu. I'm not that weak. I could have handled it a bit differently but it still doesn't change the fact that I did it because I wanted to. So stop feeling guilty Tetsu, it wasn't your fault. If anything it's because of those bastards."
Kuroko leaned tiredly against Aomine as if soaking up the strength coming from Aomine. He didn't do anything aside from giving his blood. He was not the one who either fought enemies or got injured fighting them. He didn't even know that his parents were in danger until after it was over.
But he felt so drained.
Aomine's arm wrapped around Kuroko's shoulders to tug him closer and broke the peace between them. "Did you and Akashi have a fight?" he asked, uncertainty coating his voice.
Kuroko burrowed his face to Aomine's chest, seeking comfort. "It's not really a fight," he said after a few beats of silence. "I may have said something hurtful to Akashi-kun."
"Yeah?"
"I didn't mean it," Kuroko continued. "I was feeling overwhelmed with all that happen and just blurted things out without thinking."
"So…" said Aomine, "you don't know what to do now. You want to say sorry to Akashi but you don't know how to approach him. Did I get it right?"
Kuroko nodded. "He's doing so much for my family when he doesn't really have to. And I don't know why."
"Don't play dumb Tetsu," Aomine snorted. "You know the reason why. He's doing it because of you and for you."
"I feel like I don't deserve it," Kuroko reluctantly admitted.
"You do," Aomine quietly whispered and for some reason it was enough for Kuroko. "Just a piece of advice though, you should ask for forgiveness after all of this is over."
Kuroko was confused for that. "Why?" he asked, looking up at Aomine. "Shouldn't it better if I do it soon?"
Aomine rubbed his nape in uneasiness. "Akashi is…you know he's busy dealing with those attackers, right? And they attack your family and it's like indirectly attacking you and our coven, and then me getting hurt, plus the fight you had. Akashi is in a bad mood. It's best if you let him cool off for a while."
"You think Akashi-kun might hurt me?" Kuroko asked, surprised.
"What? No!" Aomine immediately balked. "As if Akashi has the guts to hurt you. I meant you should let him concentrate on finding those bastards first. I don't mean this in a bad way but you're kind of a distraction Tetsu."
Kuroko unsurely stared at Aomine. "So I should just let Akashi-kun think that I'm still mad at him?"
"Well…" Aomine trailed off. "I'm pretty sure Akashi knows you didn't mean what you said and that you regret it. I think he's already forgiven you for that. He won't stay mad at you for so long. You still sleep together at night, right?"
"I don't know. I slept and woke up alone. If Akashi-kun stayed at my room last night, I didn't notice," Kuroko answered.
Aomine shrugged his shoulders. "Considering what happened, I'm sure he stayed with you. Maybe he thought you might feel awkward if you saw him. Actually have you seen him yet?"
"No," Kuroko shook his head. "I ate breakfast with Kise-kun alone and he said Akashi-kun and Midorima-kun are in his office. Then, I went here to think and you came and here we are."
"Okay, if you see Akashi just act normal," Aomine advised and a tranquil stillness settled between them.
"Aomine-kun," Kuroko called and gave him a soft, grateful smile. "Thank you."
Aomine grinned back. "Anything for you, Tetsu."
xXx
Kise's mind took a short vacation as he half-listened to the busty woman, who kept holding his arm and pressing her boobs on it and talking his ear off. He nodded and grunted noncommittally in the right times with a fake smile plastered on his lips.
His eyes discreetly wandered around the hotel ballroom where a party of the elite's elite was being held and observed the couples dancing with the music in the center, men adorned in expensive suits and women lavished in classy gowns and glittering jewelries were on the side chatting up, business for the former and gossips for the latter.
After freeing himself off the clingy woman with an empty promise of seeing her later in her room, Kise walked around and smiled at the few acquaintances he knew but didn't invite any small talks. He took a glass of champagne from the passing waiter and situated himself out of sight while sipping and kept a watchful eye at his target and thanks to his advance hearing, he could hear what he was talking about even if he was on the other side.
"—wouldn't believe it but I assure you it's very worth it," Kise's target babbled encouragingly to his business partners.
One of them, a handsome man in his thirties with his raven hair and dark brown eyes, tried to hide his uneasiness and smiled amicably. "I believe you, Sawashiro-san," he said. "But I'm facing a few problems in my company and venturing to your proposal isn't advisable."
"Ah, Hiro-san," his target—Sawashiro—shook his head. "Those problems you said you're facing will be gone in instant if you just agree to my proposal."
The man beside Hiro, who must be in fifties and considering their resemblance must also be a relative of Hiro, put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Takeshi here is very independent and wants to fix problems by himself," he explained. "I'm certain your proposal has merits Sawashiro-san and I think everyone agrees with me but your idea is a bit…odd."
"It is not," Sawashiro insisted and crossed his arms, dropping off the jovial charisma as his face hardened. "Just think of it like it's charity and your helping those kids have a future."
"Yeah," a man, who was at back of the group, quietly muttered, "a very mysterious future."
The man beside Sawashiro cleared his throat. "Let's leave business talks and have fun in the party, it's what we came here for," he said and slapped lightly Sawashiro on the back with a laugh. "Liven up Sawashiro! You're too serious."
After that, the group dispersed but Kise could see Sawashiro silently fuming at the cold disregard for him. "All of you are going to regret this," he angrily mumbled under his breath before stomping his way out of the party.
Kise's eyes narrowed for that and was close to following him but the phone vibrating from his pocket stopped him and after reading the message, leaned back against the wall and continued sipping his champagne.
He would let Aomine handle the rest.
xXx
Murasakibara licked the butterscotch cream from his fingers while relaxing in the kitchen after the grueling hours of preparation and cooking as the head chef for the party. He lazily glared at the waiter staring at the bowl of leftover butterscotch cream he was holding. This was his reward, he wasn't going to share.
The waiter squeaked like a girl before running away as fast as he could from the kitchen. The chefs watched the scared waiter in amusement as they all laughed. They all knew how temperamental Murasakibara was whenever he was on the job and got used to it.
"Murasakibara-sama," his sous chef—Kaori, a woman in her late twenties, called. "I'll handle the rest. You can go home now if you want."
Murasakibara tilted his head to the side and hummed. He put the bowl down and took his phone out to message Akashi if he could go home. The reply was instant and said to wait for Kise to fetch him. "I'll wait for Kise-chin," he said to them. The chefs all nodded as they knew he and Kise were friends.
Murasakibara's patisserie handed him a small plate of éclairs so he wouldn't be bored. As he ate, his focused was on the other side of the door—to the party—and his target. His target was boring to say the least and kept complaining about nonsense, bragging her gown and jewelries and such and bad-mouthing anyone who caught her eye.
Kise should have gotten her instead since he had experience with this type but luck wasn't on Murasakibara's side and he lost at rock-paper-scissors and got the boring assignment. Well, at least he didn't have to mingle with the guests or he would lose his mind and he could even do surveillance in the kitchen while eating at that.
His primary job of putting a tracker in the woman was done when he coincidentally went to the toilet and bumped into her. Now, he could just watch—or rather hear her movements before he could go home. The rest was on Midorima, who was entrusted of monitoring the woman's movement from the tracker.
Murasakibara paused on taking another éclair when the woman said something that caught his attention.
"Oh, trust me. You'll love it," the woman purred (unattractively, in his opinion). "They're all hot and very, very good in bed. I'll introduce you to them if you want."
He heard a woman gasped. "Is that where you got those marks?" she asked, rather excitedly. "You know, those rope burns in your wrist." A few mutterings of "Oh, my", "You're into those things"; "Did it feel good" and "I want to meet them" were ensued.
Murasakibara's target laughed and seems to lap all the attention. "Yes, one of them was into bondage," she said, arrogance in her tone. "At first I was reluctant but I don't know I just found myself agreeing and I so did not regret it. That night was very pleasurable and I woke up satisfied."
"Are you sure we can meet them?" a woman asked.
"Sure," the target said. "But be warned, they're very picky and may not want you. I was the only one who got into their mansion. The other girls were sent home."
"Luck you."
When the conversation drifted to another topic, Murasakibara tuned them out and continued eating his pastry after sending Midorima the new information he got. His last éclair was halfway to his mouth when Kise burst in the kitchen with dramatic flair as usual.
"Murasakicchi~!" Kise greeted him exuberantly and waved at the chefs while greeting them. Murasakibara eyed Kise, who was energetic but he could detect a hint of disquiet in him. "Are you done eating? I wanna go home and see Kurokocchi before he retires for the night."
Murasakibara finished his éclair and languidly stood up. "I'm done," he said and lazily said goodbye to his chefs and kitchen staff. His eyes sparkled when one of his chefs handed him a box of some of the pastries. I have good staff, was his thought since they knew him well.
Both he and Kise left without any hassle and walked towards Kise's car. For some unknown reason, Kise was being unusually quiet as he drove home. From the corner of his eye, Murasakibara watched the blond to his right and wondered if Kise had trouble with his target. "Something wrong Kise-chin?" he asked.
Kise blinked in surprise and furtively glanced at him before turning to watch the road. "Nothing much," he said. "I'm just wondering how this is connected to Kurokocchi's parents."
"Aka-chin said there's only thirty percent chance that they're both connected," Murasakibara explained. "And you know Aka-chin; he likes to keep all bases covered."
"I know," Kise nodded. "But I get this feeling that we're missing something. Also…" he trailed off.
"Ominous feeling," Murasakibara stated, knowing where Kise's head was at. "If we kept investigating this, the road ahead will be a thorny one. That just means we're on the right track but just thinking of what the consequences might be…"
"Yeah," Kise sighed and his hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel. "It's so weird. We've seen and been through much but this one feels the worse. I want for all of us to leave and go somewhere safe where no one can reach us before anything bad happens. "
Murasakibara stared at the troubling Kise. "Running won't solve anything Kise-chin and Aka-chin isn't the type to retreat. We just have to do our best and protect each other."
Kise was silent for a few seconds before whispering, "Kurokocchi."
"Nothing bad will happen to Kuro-chin," Murasakibara consoled. "We and especially Aka-chin will protect Kuro-chin."
Kise accepted his unsure but sincere assurance and concentrated his attention back to driving. The sharp ring of the Kise's phone broke the heavy atmosphere. Kise parked at the side of the road before answering his phone. "Aominecchi?"
"Kise where are you?"
"On the way home."
"Is Murasakibara with you?"
Kise looked at him before saying, "Yeah, Murasakicchi's with me. Is something wrong? Do you need help?"
"A little." They heard a crash and then Aomine cursing.
"You okay Aominecchi?"
"Yeah, stupid pranks. No time to explain but I need you to go to Himawari Orphanage and fast."
"Okay," Kise nodded. "Anything else you might need?"
"Ropes. Lots of it."
"Uh, Aominecchi, you're not thinking of kidnapping some of the children there, right? Are you trying to follow Akashicchi's footsteps or something?"
"Shut it! Just get your butts in here!"
Kise stared at his phone after Aomine's abrupt hanging and started the car. "Looks like we're going on a weird field trip," he said, amused.
Murasakibara sighed heavily. "But I was looking forward to eating my desserts and sleeping," he complained.
"Sorry Murasakicchi," Kise said, not sounding a bit sorry. "But this comes first."
Murasakibara pouted since he knew he couldn't back out now and without wasting any precious time, he hurriedly open the pastry box on his lap and started consuming all of it. By the sound of it, he was going to need his energy and food was his fuel.
It turned out he didn't need to.
xXx
"Aominecchi!"
"Not now Kise."
"But Aominecchi—"
"Shut up! I'm busy!"
Kise sighed as Aomine silently rummaged the drawers in the director's office of the orphanage, searching for some classified files according to Aomine. His ears perked up at the inaudible sound coming their way which for some reason Aomine couldn't hear. "Aominecchi!" he loudly whispered again, urgency evident in his tone.
Aomine didn't stop looking at the papers in his hand. "Stop being a nuisance Kise and help me or just keep your mouth shut," he bit off, annoyed.
Kise blew a frustrated breath and hid himself in the corner of the room. If Aomine was ignoring his warning then he would just leave him to it. At the corner of his eye, Kise watched as the door slightly open and a muzzle of a gun poked in, aimed at Aomine's back. He opened his mouth to warn Aomine again but then he noticed something strange. Is that a toy gun? he thought in surprise.
Suddenly, water squirted out of the gun and onto Aomine, drenching his back wet. "What the—" Aomine whirled around and then got hit on the face with the water. "Damn it!"
Kise covered his mouth with his hand, trying to swallow his laugh but his shoulders kept shaking in silent mirth. With the fortunate albeit unexpected (not to mention funny that he wished he could have recorded it) distraction, Kise quickly pulled the door open and grabbed the small hand holding the gun, taking it.
A boy probably seven or eight with wild russet hair froze and his widened ocean blue eyes caught his. Kise swiftly covered the kid's mouth with his other hand before the kid could scream. Monitoring the hallway to see if there were other kids waiting to ambush them but finding none, he dragged the boy inside the office, who was thrashing violently in his arms.
"What the fuck is a kid doing in here?" Aomine hissed as he wiped his face dry in annoyance.
Kise wryly eyed Aomine. "This is an orphanage, of course there are kids here," he sardonically answered. "And stop cursing in front of one."
Aomine glared at him. "I know that! And I don't care!" he groused. "I meant what he was doing here in the middle of the night."
The boy kicked his short legs in frustration at Aomine's direction, his screams or maybe words stifled by Kise's hand. He tried to calm the kid down. "Hey kid, look, we're not the bad guys here," Kise said which caused Aomine to snort and his eyes narrowed at him to shut up, quid pro quo as they say. "I'm going to let you go if you promise not to scream, okay?"
The boy stopped his struggling and hesitantly nodded his head. Kise put the boy down and slowly removed his hand from the kid's mouth. As soon as the boy opened his mouth, Kise's hand covered it again. "Tsk, tsk," he clucked his tongue, waving a finger. "You're a naughty boy, huh? Not keeping to your promises."
The kid glared at Kise, his ocean blue eyes were now dark as a stormy sea. "Mmf whf hifhg," was his muffled cries and started punching his chest.
Kise sighed as he grabbed hold of the boy's wrists in one hand and pressed it to his chest to restrict the kid's movements. "We're going nowhere with this," he said and turned to Aomine, who was back to perusing the files at the desk.
"Just knock the kid out, problem solved," Aomine mumbled as he took out his phone and photographed the papers on the desk and opened another drawer after putting the other files back in their place. "It's not like he knows anything that we need."
Both of their heads swiveled at the door when it slowly opened. Kise's gripped on the boy got tighter when he started resisting again, his face pale and trying to turn to the door. Kise blinked when he saw a beautiful girl mostly likely five or six years old with long golden locks curled at the end, her bangs framing her face perfectly and her blue-green eyes shown confusion as it traveled from Aomine, to him and then to the boy in his hold. Wow, she looks like a doll, was Kise's only thought.
Kise sensed Aomine tensing to maybe grab the girl before she could call for help but they were surprised when the girl said. "Um, who are you? Are you our saviors?"
Kise and Aomine looked at each other, not knowing what to do next and he shrugged, leaving the decision up to Aomine. It seemed the girl knew something they didn't. Kise looked down at the boy, who stopped flailing around and was entirely focused on the girl. Deciding it was best to let the boy go, Kise released the kid's wrists and watched as he ran towards the girl.
"What are you doing here?" the boy angrily said. "I told you to stay in your room."
The girl looked crestfallen and tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. "I'm sorry," she hiccupped. "But you were gone for so long and I was wor…I was worried…"
"D-Don't cry!" the boy panicked when he saw the tears, not knowing what to do.
"Look what you did, kid," Aomine commented and paid no attention to the boy's glare as he walked closer to them and crouched down to the girl's height. "Here," he handed a handkerchief to the girl. "Stop crying. You're much prettier when you don't."
The girl stared at Aomine in wonder and her cheeks were flushed red as she shyly took the offered handkerchief. "Thank you," she quietly murmured.
The boy continued glaring at Aomine and hid the girl behind him and took a step back. "Don't come near us."
Kise decided it was time he intervened. "I told you, we're not going to hurt you," he said, trying to assure them. "I know it looks bad that we're here in the middle of the night, uh, skulking in the director's office. But we're just here to, um, check on something. So don't worry, we're not going to touch you or anything."
Aomine rolled his eyes heavenward at his explanation. "Great. What's next, you're going to tell them our names? Are you nuts?"
The boy looked between Kise and Aomine uncertainly but he must have seen something when he relaxed and let his guard down. "You're not one the director's friends," he stated rather than questioned.
They both turned at the boy in interest. "What do you mean friends?" Kise asked. "Were there a lot of the director's friends coming here?"
"Yes," the girl answered stepping out behind the boy. "They always come here a lot and asked for the all the girls to come here one by one sometimes they also called some boys."
Kise had a bad feeling about this. "So all of them are men? Did they ask for you?"
"Yeah," the girl nodded. "The director says I'm the best there is."
"Do they…do they touch you?"
The girl gazed at him for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "Just my hair and face. Sometimes they placed me on their laps."
"Fuck me," Aomine grumbled in restrained anger.
"You really don't know," the boy said in relief.
Aomine stared at the boy with a serious expression. "We don't. Actually, it's the reason why we're here. To find out what's happening," he admitted, much to Kise's surprise. "I know you don't trust us and we're asking a lot but we need your help. So if you know more, can you tell us? I promise we'll put an end to this."
The girl looked up at the boy beside her, trusting him to make the decision. The boy nodded and faced them, his ocean blue eyes filled with determination. "I'll tell you what I know," he said. "But on one condition."
Aomine raised an amused eyebrow. "Negotiating, huh? Smart," he remarked. "Sure, what is it?"
"Take Emi away from here."
Kise was surprised. "Just her? What about you?" he asked but before the boy could answer him, the girl—Emi—threw her tiny arms around the boy.
"No!" she cried. "I won't leave Daisuke-kun! You promised you won't leave me!"
The boy—Daisuke—tried to pacify the sobbing Emi to no avail while he and Aomine listened carefully if anyone heard her cries. It would be bad if they got caught and the kids got dragged into it. Having heard none, Kise brought his attention back to the kids. "Emi-chan, don't cry," he called and Emi focused on him. "Let's just listen to Daisuke-kun first then we'll decide what to do next, okay?"
Emi looked hesitant but nonetheless acquiesced while sniffing. "Okay."
Kise eyed Aomine, silently communicating him that he should ask the boy. Aomine nodded and turned to Daisuke. "Okay, kid—I mean Daisuke, why do you want Emi to go with us?"
"I'm not stupid," Daisuke answered. "I know what they're going to do to Emi if she continues to stay here. I don't want anything bad to happen to her. You don't…" he trailed off and clenched his fists tight. "You don't know how the directors and his friends stare at the girls especially Emi. I-It's disgusting. The volunteers helped us in distracting them but they can only do so much."
Kise blinked at the information. "The volunteers know? Why don't they do anything?"
"I'm not really sure if they know what's happening since the director is good at hiding it," Daisuke said, shrugging. "I only found out about it when I hid in here for hide-and-seek. I think the director blackmails them so they can't talk."
Kise bit his lip in frustration. This was bigger than they thought. Did Akashi or even Midorima know about this?
"What did you found out?" Aomine pressed.
Daisuke gazed at Emi at his side and looked at Aomine and then Kise. "I…I can't," he shakily whispered.
"It's okay," Emi softly spoke and held Daisuke's left hand for support.
At Emi's encouragement, Daisuke talked and Kise and Aomine kept tensing and tensing as they continued to listen.
xXx
Murasakibara dazedly blinked at the little girl staring up at him in wonder. "What's with the kid Kise-chin?" he asked. "I thought you were only joking when you said Mine-chin plans to kidnap some kid."
"We're not kidnapping her Murasakicchi!" Kise protested and helped the girl climbed on the back of the car. "We're going to take her away from here."
"But isn't that kidnapping?"
"No, it's not!" Kise insisted as he buckled the girl up. "This is different. We're helping her escape."
Murasakibara shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly. Kise could do whatever he wanted just as long as he was the one explaining to Akashi why they were taking a kid from an orphanage. "Whatever you say Kise-chin," he said. "Where's Mine-chin?"
Kise straightened up and close the door after soothingly patting the girl on the head. "He's coming shortly."
"Did you find anything?" Murasakibara asked. Kise froze at his question and Murasakibara could feel the concealed rage coming from him. "I take it that's a yes."
Kise pocketed his hands and resignedly leaned against the side door of the car. "It's bad Murasakicchi. The way they treat the kids and even some of the helpers, it's inhumane. Just thinking what they went through…"
"So you're going to save them?" Murasakibara guessed. "There's more to this than just taking away the kids Kise-chin."
"I know that!" Kise asserted. "But we can save them. Don't tell me you're heartless enough to just leave a bunch of kids and some of them even adults to this hellhole?"
"Relax Kise-chin," Murasakibara tried to appease Kise. "I'm not saying that we're not going to help but think what Aka-chin would say. We already have enough on our plate. We can't possible add another and a big one, too."
That seemed to penetrate Kise's aggravation and sighed. "I'm sure I can convince Akashicchi to help them. Besides, he's the one who thought this might be connected to Kurokocchi and maybe it does."
"Maybe," Murasakibara agreed. "But maybe not. Don't get your hopes up."
"Aominecchi agrees with me, you know," said Kise.
"It's Mine-chin. He has a weakness when it comes to kids especially abused ones. And he's inching to fight again."
Kise was saved from replying when they saw Aomine jogging up to them with a kid—a boy this time—in tow. Kise moved to the driver's side after telling Murasakibara to sit on the passenger seat. Aomine opened the other side door and gently pushed the boy inside before following.
"Press on it Kise," Aomine ordered and Kise did what he was told.
"Don't tell me you got caught Aominecchi!"
"Of course not," Aomine snorted. "Don't forget who you're talking to. Just wanted to say that, is all."
"Aominecchi!"
Murasakibara twisted around to look at the two kids Kise and Aomine shanghaied. The boy immediately took the girl's hand and asked if she was okay which the girl responded with a nod. The boy seemed nervous and apprehensive and kept glancing at Murasakibara while the girl was calm and composed and just watched the passing night scenery from the window in delight.
"Who are you?" the boys asked him, after gathering a little courage it seemed.
Murasakibara deemed no answer and looked between Kise and Aomine. "You told them your names, didn't you?" he guessed and considering the slight flinching of Kise, he guessed it right. "Aka-chin would be so mad."
"You just said our leader's name, you dolt," Aomine retorted.
"It's a nickname."
Kise glanced at the rearview mirror to watch the kids before looking at him. "I think it's safe to tell them our names," he said, smiling a little. "They blindly trusted us so it's only good courtesy to do the same."
"You are so explaining this to Aka-chin~" Murasakibara said in a sing song voice before turning around to face the kids. "My name is Murasakibara. What's yours?"
The girl turned away from the window and gave him a soft, wide smile. "I'm Sakura Emi," she introduced and gestured to the boy. "And this Mamoru Daisuke, my protector!"
Daisuke's face turned very red at Emi's cheerful but kind of embarrassing introduction. "Emi!"
"Oh~" Aomine smirked and raised an amused eyebrow at the boy. "Protector, eh? You're living up to your name, huh?"
"Shut up, ganguro!"
"Don't call me that you stinky brat!"
Murasakibara ignored the bickering between Aomine and the boy and righted himself. He looked at Kise, who was silently driving not minding the ruckus in the backseat. "Where are you taking them Kise-chin? You can't take them home. Aka-chin won't like it since Kuro-chin's there."
"Yeah," Kise nodded as he stopped at the red light. "I'm thinking of taking them to Haru-chan's. She'll take care of them plus that place is secured. No one will think of finding them there."
Murasakibara tilted his head to the side, thinking. "Isn't she married?" he pondered, remembering Kise's ex-girlfriend (the nicest out of all the countless of them in his opinion). "Won't her husband mind if we dropped off some kids in the early morning?"
"That guy owes us," Aomine butted in, leaning closer at the back of Kise's seat while the kids listened to them raptly though they only knew half of what was going on. "Plus, he's head over heels over his wife. He'll do anything to please her even if it means taking in a bunch of kids that his wife's ex dropped off."
Kise let out an aggravated sigh. "Would you please stop talking about Emi-chan and Daisuke-kun like they're not here and don't treat them as objects!"
Emi took that as a sign to join in the conversation. "Does that mean Kise nii-san isn't going to take us to your home?"
"So you're washing your hands off us," Daisuke stated, crossing his arms over his chest petulantly. "I thought you guys have a sense of responsibility."
"Listen here, kid," Aomine started, his tone stern and firm. "Dropping you off to someone's house that you don't know is us being responsible. We can't take you with us since we have a lot of enemies. If you think the orphanage director is evil, we know much more evil than that guy. Trust me; what he does is like child's play to some of them. And you staying with us mean danger. What we're doing is for your own protections so shut up and let us, the adults, handle the rest."
"Well said Aominecchi! I'm so proud of you," Kise teased to lighten the atmosphere. Aomine smacked him at the back of the head because of it. "Hey!"
"Thank you."
All of them looked at Emi, who was watching them gratefully and her blue-green eyes were shining with unshed tears. "I mean, it's not your job to save us but you still did it and I'm…I…" she trailed off. "Just thank you."
"Emi…" Daisuke regarded Emi carefully and squeezed her hand in his tighter.
"Don't thank us yet Emi-chan," Kise said as he looked at the rearview mirror and gave her a reassuring smile. "We haven't done anything yet but we promise to save your friends back at the orphanage."
"And take that son of a bitch of a director down," Aomine gravely muttered.
Drolly watching Aomine, Murasakibara said. "Really Mine-chin, you're still cursing in front of kids. Have some shame."
"Damn it, what's wrong with me cursing? Leave it alone!"
"It's okay," Daisuke said, relaxing in his seat. "We heard worse than his mouth."
Kise tutted in mild reprimand. "That doesn't make it okay, you know. Kids shouldn't hear those things or they might pick up on it especially to a beautiful girl like Emi-chan."
"Don't worry Kise nii-san. I won't," Emi promised with a sweet smile on her face before shyly peeking at Aomine with a small blush on her cheeks. "And I don't mind that Aomine-san does it."
Noticing this, Murasakibara and Kise turned to each other before letting out a hearty laugh and the car almost swiveled when Kise brushed off a tear in his eye while snickering. Daisuke seemed clueless though and just stared at them like they were out of their minds. All of this didn't escape Aomine's notice of course and slid down further on the car seat with a half-hearted grumble of "Shut up" to them.
xXx
With a weary sigh, Akashi leaned against his chair in his office with his hands clasp together on his stomach as he looked at the restless and fidgety Kise in front of him after reporting in. He hadn't had any sleep yet and only stayed for a moment at Kuroko's room to watch him sleep as he wanted to take his mind off at the current situation as well as other things and seeing Kuroko always calmed him down.
Akashi was slightly worried when Kise and Murasakibara hadn't come home yet when it was nearing midnight and only Aomine messaging him that they were his back-up alleviated it. He reckoned from Aomine's message that he must have found some valuable information but he never would have thought it would result into this.
Akashi breathed out a sigh again. "Seriously, Ryouta?"
Kise nervously shifted on his foot and his hands were behind him, his fingers probably fiddling in uneasiness. "I can't just leave them alone there Akashicchi. They need our help."
"And you told them your names?"
Kise winced at that. "Just our last names," he dejectedly mumbled.
"Have you at least found something from the orphanage connecting to Tetsuya's parents?"
Now, Kise looked alarmed and scared. "Um…"
Akashi rubbed his head in exasperation. "Talk to those kids and if you found something, anything contact me immediately."
"So…" Kise tentatively started after nodding in agreement, "are we going to help those kids Akashicchi?"
"You already promised them. Not to mention, you took them away from the orphanage without permission," he said. "We have no choice but to do it."
Kise's worried face morphed into his cheerful one. "Really Akashicchi?"
Akashi gave Kise an indulgent smile. "Yes, and you'll be leading this task Ryouta. But remember our priority mission."
"Yosh!" Kise cheered. "I'll take care of this Akashicchi." He turned to leave his office, skipping merrily on his way before facing back. "And I won't forget. 'Night, Akashicchi!" And with that, Kise happily left his office.
Akashi tiredly closed his eyes as his mind went everything back from Kise's report. He could feel something off from that orphanage. He wasn't there but he could sense why Kise and Aomine (since Murasakibara undoubtedly only went with the flow) acted out of their norm and went with their instincts. They hadn't found anything yet but he got the impression that they were close to answers.
Taking his phone out of his pocket, Akashi stared it in contemplation. Seeing as he didn't have anything to lose, he made up his mind and dialed a number. He patiently waited for the other line to pick up as it was too early in the morning; it was a surprise when his call cut through quickly.
"Akashi-san?"
"Ryuuji-san, I'm sorry for waking you so abruptly."
"Not a problem Akashi-san. Do you need something? Is it Tetsuya?"
"Tetsuya is fine. I'm calling for a different reason. Do you or your wife know Himawari Orphanage?"
"Himawari Orphanage…? Oh, yes, my wife visits the children there from time to time. But ever since they replaced the old director with a new one, her visits gradually decreased."
Akashi tensed at that and opened one of his drawers, searching for the orphanage's file. "Could you do me a favor Ryuuji-san? Can you wake up Miyako-san? I need to talk her personally about this."
"That's a hard request Akashi-san. You know she doesn't like you that much."
"Ryuuji-san it would really be a great help if you could grant me this favor," he said as he perused the documents he found, reading line after line.
"All right Akashi-san, please wait a moment."
As he waited, Akashi flip over the pages about the Himawari Orphanage that Momoi sent him. He also gathered the printed documents Aomine sent him earlier.
"Akashi-san, this better be good."
Akashi wasted no time. "Why did you stop coming to Himawari Orphanage Miyako-san?"
"What? Himawari Orphanage? What's this got to do with anything?"
"Miyako-san, I really need your answer. It's important."
A sigh and then, "It's just a feeling. The new director gave me the creeps and he's too…touchy. I really don't like leaving the kids there all alone but I can only do so much. And it's not like I can go to the police just because the director gave me a bad feeling."
"Do you remember when the new director was appointed?"
"Half a year ago."
Akashi closed his eyes at the children—and according to Kise some volunteers, too—that have endured at the hands of that director. "When was your last visit Miyako-san?"
"Two months ago."
"Are you sure? You've never went there for the last few weeks?"
"…You mean like after your visit to us?"
Akashi couldn't help the small smile on his face at her quick deduction. So Kuroko got his perceptiveness from his mother, maybe his father as well. "Yes, precisely."
"No…Oh, but one volunteer did visit me just after you left. I don't know her that much since she was new but she asked me who you were when she saw you leaving. I didn't say anything much since we don't know you. I just told her you were, uh…an old friend."
Well, that answered everything. "That volunteer was a spy."
"I guessed as much. Since you're asking me all these questions, does that mean you're going to do something about that orphanage? I know you're not…human but those children need saving. I don't really know what's exactly happening but I know it's bad."
"It is, Miyako-san. It's really bad," Akashi said, revealing the truth.
"Those children…"
"Don't worry Miyako-san. We'll do anything we can to stop this. It's a good thing one of my…subordinates took an initiative so we could work on it. And there's a good chance I might catch on who was behind on your attack."
"Two birds with one stone, huh. Well, I don't really like saying this but I'll leave the rest to you, Akashi-san."
"Thank you Miyako-san. You've been a great help."
"Anything for those kids. Oh, almost forgot Akashi-san, has Tetsuya-kun been sleeping well?"
Akashi blinked at the sudden question. "Yes, last time I check."
"I see. Does he have any nightmares?"
"No, he doesn't," he answered, his curiosity piqued.
"That's good. Tetsuya-kun, you see, sometimes gets these awful nightmares. He always screams and screams loudly and it's hard for us to wake him up. It was difficult when he was a kid since it was frequent but as he grows older it came less and less. If at a time he has one, hug him tight so he couldn't lash out, rocked him back and forth and say his name over and over again."
Stunned was understatement for what Akashi was feeling after that revelation. "Do you know what those nightmares are about?"
"Unfortunately, no. Tetsuya-kun doesn't remember it as well. Actually, he doesn't even remember that he has those nightmares. Whenever we ask, he just stares at us in confusion so we stopped and just watched over him."
"You said he screams, does he screams something or was it just plain screaming?"
"Well, he screams out words from time to time but we couldn't understand it. It doesn't sound like Japanese."
Akashi's eyes narrowed. "What language do you think it was?"
"Hmm…I'm not really sure. I don't recognize it. All I know is that it's too mouthful."
"I see…" Akashi said as he drummed a finger on the table absentmindedly. "Thank you for the warning then, Miyako-san. I'll keep an eye on Tetsuya."
"Take care of my son Akashi-san."
"I will Miyako-san."
Akashi placed his phone down on the table after hanging up and arranged the files on his table, planning all the while. Once done, he stood up, grabbed his phone and walked out of his office and onto the other side of the mansion.
Akashi opened the door to Kuroko's room and went inside. He removed his coat, leaving it at a nearby chair and placed down his phone in the nightstand where he could reach it. He sat on the bed as he removed his shoes and socks. He refrained from changing his clothes since he knew he would wake up in a couple of hours and before Kuroko could get up.
Akashi looked down at the peaceful slumbering Kuroko. If Miyako hadn't said anything about those nightmares, he wouldn't have doubted this serene scene. To think Kuroko has those and he didn't even remember it. He wished Kuroko wouldn't have those nightmares again but he knew wishes are futile. He would just have to do the best he could to snap Kuroko out of it when it came. At least now, he was prepared.
Cautiously settling beside Kuroko, Akashi gathered him in his arms after giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. Kuroko hummed before snuggling closer to him by wrapping an arm around Akashi's stomach which was the usual routine from Kuroko unbeknownst to him. Lulled by Kuroko's soft, even breathing, Akashi closed his eyes and slept.
Tomorrow everything would end.
Q&A CORNER!
Q1: Does the binding only work if vampires drink each other's blood? I'm just wondering cause since Daiki drank Tetsuya's blood he could basically bind him by letting him drink his own blood correct? (Kottori)
A: Most of the time, yes but there are vampires who bind themselves to humans. There's a ceremony they must perform for the binding to work. I called it the Binding though some called it the Soul Binding/Bond. It's kinda like a marriage for vampires.
Q2: So here is the one question for this chapter, the bracelet Akashi gave Kuroko out of pure curiosity at one point in the series will it be removed? (AngelTricks)
A: No, it won't. Due to events in Arc II, that bracelet will become one of Kuroko's lifelines. Even if Akashi offered to take it off, Kuroko would refuse the offer. I can't explain it well but you will get it when we get to Arc II.
Q3: One more thing I am surprise Kuroko mother hasn't gone crazy mode trying to find her son. ((Kind of hard to believe she trust them so easily lol)) (AngelTricks)
A: That's probably because of Aomine. There's something in him that made them trust him (well that and because he just saved them). They believed him when he said that Kuroko is safe and not in danger. If it was Akashi though, Miyako won't easily believe it and go into crazy mom mode even if they're in the middle of an attack. She really doesn't like him that much but she'll slowly warm up to him (behind the scenes or is it called chapter break? I won't be able to write it, sorry).
Q4: Wait, why were the parents targeted? Because of the blood thing most probably. Kuroko got his blood from his parents so it's natural they are being targeted. (KurokoTetsuya101)
A: No, it's not because of their blood. If that was the reason then Kuroko's entire bloodline would be close to annihilation. There's another reason for it as you can see from this chapter.
Q5: When the Seirin characters appear, will you make Izuki Shun (my loves) some funny jokes? *o* (I hope you would.) (abbylovesmyungsoo)
A: Omg, I don't know how to make a pun. I'll try my best to make up some for Izuki.
Q6: What does the sentence "better than him" means? Did Akashi has been in love before or is it someone he trusted then that person betrayed him?/ When Midorima and Daiki was talking, and Daiki said ? ...better than him...? one part of me said Chiro (wrong spelling) and another part said Haizaki or Hanamiya. (Scarlet Aki-chin/Guest)
A: Him means Akashi's lover from before. Questions about it are on the previous Q&As so you can check from there.
Q7: I wonder if the enemy will be a group or a person...? I'm guessing whoever they are have a vendetta against Akashi and the GOM but how did they find out about Kuroko? (Assasin8)
A: It's a group; they're the villains for Arc II so you won't see them much on Arc I. And yes, they have a vendetta against Akashi. Akashi isn't the only one who can keep tab of someone and someone saw Akashi visited the Kuroko home which was unusual for him (that's one of the reasons for the attack). They don't know the existence of Kuroko yet but they will soon.
Q8: And the person that Aomine and Midorima were taking about after the fight, the one who was with Akashi in the past I suppose... Is that going to come back to bite everyone somehow? (Assasin8)
A: Hmm...yes but at the same time no. I can't explain it well. But that will be on Arc IV.
Q9: Is Akashi going to drink Kuroko's blood? (fanlover18)
A: Um, you mean in this Arc? Yes, but it's not shown. As for the future, yes, of course, he will.
Q10: Ne, I actually wonder, why cant juz Kuroko call or even video chat his parent if he miss them that much or even worried bout them? He has his phone right? I think the technology now can manage to cover your track from the whatever-gadget-that-can-locate-you.. Right? (Seems like Midorima's work..) (Knight Yuuki)
A: There are a lot of reasons for this. First: Akashi predicated that his visit to Kuroko's parents will caught some unfortunate attention so to keep Kuroko's existence hidden; he didn't allow any form of communication. And since he was right if Kuroko communicated with them, the mansion would have been attack, too and their manpower would reduce to half and that's not a good thing.
Second: Even if Kuroko is settling well and hasn't done anything to escape, he's still considered as a flight risk. So Akashi confiscated his phone and ordered the others to hide any phones or gadgets that Kuroko might use to connect to the outside world and in turn escape.
Third: It will be at the end of Arc I but Akashi will allow Kuroko to communicate with his parents through letters at first for precaution. And when Akashi feels he could trust Kuroko enough not to leave him, he'll get him a cellphone so he could talk to his parents (and when they have the time, visit them).
The phone call from this chapter was on the home phone from the safe house were Kuroko's parents are. They're just staying there temporarily until Akashi found them a new home, safe from any danger (like, say, vampires). They were whisked away to their new home after that phone call (since that home line was still traceable) so Kuroko hadn't had the chance to talk to them.
Q11: Ah well, Tetsuya.. Please say Happy birthday to Akashi and give him this pure-sharp-silver-scissor as his present for me! My wish for him is, 'Hurry up and make up with Tetsuya! I want more fluff and sexy-blood-drinking part from both of you!' ( /x/) (Knight Yuuki)
Kuroko: I will though it's the first time I heard Akashi-kun celebrating his birthday. I wonder how old he is. Four hundred? Five hundred or more? And what do you mean silver scissors? [flushes at the sexy-blood-drinking part] Um...
Questions from lumiere and Naeme (though your Q wasn't totally answered) were already answered on the previous Q&As. Please read them to avoid repeated questions. Thank you.
A/N: Next update was supposed to be on Dec. 31 or Jan. 1 but I don't think I will be able to finish the next chapter in that time so it might be on the first week of Jan.
As for Kuroko's nightmares, that part will play on Arc V but he'll get those nightmares before that.
