Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basket is owned by Fujimaki Tadatoshi
Pairing: AkaKuro
A/N: Okay, this chapter was late because it was too long. I already deleted unnecessary scenes and rewrote some to get it shorter but it was still long orz I gave up halfway and just let my mind and fingers go wild or else I won't get to finish this chap if I kept editing. So here it is.
Thanks to my reviewers: Kottori, EclipseKuran, AK47reloaded, Akakuro Seiya, KurokoTetsuya101, miki565, Silvinukas, Killua17, Tamani, Alyce Ochoa, Kuro13Dead, VioletFan123, Knight Yuuki, Kujo Kasuza, Kiki2000, Dark Cat Food Lover, Taylor Devline, Lovex2, miko-tan, sunshine888444, InsanityOwl, VanillaMilkshake18, idiot-kun, 123ANIMEfun, X, Guest, Purified Sins, Reality Slap and bioman. Thanks for the favorite and follow alerts, too.
For Taylor Devline, I've put the Arc number in the chapters. Thanks for the reminder! I always forget to include that. As for how many chapters in an Arc, I think I've listed my estimation in Chapter 5's Q&A.
Oh yeah, I didn't specifically stated before but the setting is in Kyoto. It was supposed to be in Tokyo, I mean I first wrote the story with that setting in mind but I changed my mind. Kyoto felt more right.
Warning: Violence ahead.
「First Descent: Arc I」
Tenth Night: The Coven's Counterattack
Electric.
Anticipation.
Expectation.
Fierceness.
For some reason, Kuroko could feel those emotions coming from everyone. They didn't show it visibly but he could kind of sense the atmosphere in the air. Not to mention, everyone seemed to be busy doing something, even Murasakibara wasn't lazing around as usual. Whenever he asked, they shrugged it off or gave him some vague and noncommittal response. Since Kuroko couldn't get any answers, he gave up and just left them to it.
"Kurokocchi!"
Kuroko braced himself as Kise pounced on him from behind and hug him so fiercely and only let him go when Kuroko elbowed Kise on the gut since he couldn't breathe. "What is it Kise-kun? Do you need something?" he asked with a sigh.
"Nothing," Kise shook his head and bounced on his feet with unconcealed excitement. "I didn't get to see you last night. And I missed you."
"Is that so?"
Kise pouted at his indifferent answer. "At least show more emotion than that Kurokocchi!" he whined and theatrically pressed a hand on his chest. "You're hurting my feelings!"
Kuroko ignored it and examined Kise's clothes which consisted of black jeans, white v-neck shirt and on top of it a light brown blazer finishing with sneakers for a casual look. A vast different from the formal attire he wore last night for a gala. "Are you going somewhere Kise-kun?"
"Yeah," Kise said with a smile. "I'm going to visit someone."
"Yup and it's his ex-girlfriend," Aomine answered as he walked past them on the hallway to the foyer after ruffling Kuroko's hair as a greeting. "His married ex-girlfriend."
Kuroko stared blankly at Kise. "That's too desperate even for you, Kise-kun," was his nonchalant comment.
"That's not it! You're misunderstanding Kurokocchi!" Kise pleaded and turned to the retreating Aomine. "And stop butting in other people's conversation Aominecchi!"
"Whatever," Kuroko heard Aomine retorted. "I'm driving."
Kise blanched when he heard that. "No way! I'm driving!"
"It's my car. I'm driving."
"But you drive like a maniac!" Kise complained as he run off after Aomine and left Kuroko on the hallway staring after them in confusion.
"I see Ryouta and Daiki have left."
Kuroko blinked at the familiar voice behind him and spun around to find Akashi standing there while watching the direction Kise and Aomine went off to. "A-Ah, yes."
Wait, did he just stutter?
Akashi turned to Kuroko and his face was unreadable for him to decipher. He was sure Akashi could hear how his heart was beating fast and wild against his chest. Akashi moved closer to him and his hand reached out to caress Kuroko's cheek with the back of his hand for a light feather touch. It was over before he could react and Akashi continued making his way to the foyer.
"W-Wait," Kuroko called and Akashi stopped to look back at him.
"Yes?"
"I—um, where are you going?" Kuroko asked, and he wished he could face-palm himself at the awkward question.
"Out," Akashi answered as he put his hands on his pocket. "Something came up and needed our attention. We might come back late in the night so you don't have to wait for us. Atsushi will stay here with you."
Kuroko paused. "Is it…Is it my parents?"
Akashi stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. "No."
An awkward silence ensued as Akashi waited for Kuroko to continue. "Uh, take care then." Those words sounded lame even to Kuroko as it came out of his lips.
"I will," Akashi nodded and then walked away.
Kuroko heaved a very big sigh when Akashi disappeared from his view. He hoped this discomfort of talking to Akashi would dissipate soon. The word uncomfortable was an understatement to say whenever both of them were together in a room. Not to mention, everyone's scrutinizing eyes watching their every move was getting on his nerves. He was only doing what Aomine advised him to.
But Kuroko really didn't know how to approach Akashi again. Evidence to that fact was what happened earlier. He certainly got one of his wishes when he first arrived here and it was for Akashi to stop paying too much attention on him. But now that it was happening, he felt bereft for some reason. All this confusing feelings were giving him headaches so he chose to just ignore them or else he might get sick.
Kuroko deviated from his destination of coming to the library and instead went to the 'command center' as Kise called it (and Kise ignored the affronted face Midorima was sporting when he heard that or the long suffering sigh Akashi let out) where he knew Midorima was at.
"Midorima-kun," he said as he knocked on the door and opened it.
Just like the first time he went there, Kuroko's eyes wandered around the room in admiration. He kind of understood why Kise called it the command center since it looked just like it. The several monitors around the room (though all of them weren't being used) and computers, shelves on the wall filled with case files (he didn't know if Kise said was true since Midorima shook his head for that), books and some scrolls. There was also a long, huge table on the center where Midorima said they have their meetings with their allied covens and a cushioned sofa in one corner of the room for them to relax.
Kuroko saw Midorima seated in one of the chairs near the table, a laptop opened in front of him as he typed with a few folders opened and strode over there. "Kuroko," Midorima greeted as he turned towards him and gestured for him to sit on a nearby chair. "Do you need something?"
"Akashi-kun said that you're leaving," Kuroko said as he sat. "May I ask where you're going?"
Midorima gazed at him with a knowing expression on his face and pushed his glasses upright. "You and Akashi really need to talk," he said instead. "And I'm not leaving until after dinner. Who knows what Murasakibara might be up to if I left him alone with you."
Kuroko lips turned downward in a frown (unfortunately for him, it looked like an adorable pout). "It's not that easy talking to Akashi-kun. It's too awkward. And Murasakibara-kun isn't Kise-kun or even Aomine-kun. I'm sure the only thing he wants me to do is to eat a lot more than I can take."
Midorima grunted in agreement at his last statement before turning his attention back to his laptop. "Didn't Akashi drink your blood last night?" he asked, not giving up on the topic.
"Yes," Kuroko answered as he fidgeted slightly on his seat.
Midorima blinked when he didn't say more and looked at him. "And?"
Kuroko let out an aggrieved sigh as he crossed his arms with a huff. "He drank from my wrist." His eyes narrowed at the vampire when he saw Midorima's lips twitching in an amused smirk. "This is not funny Midorima-kun."
"Of course not," said Midorima, clearing his throat. "You really should talk to Akashi after this is over."
"Aomine-kun said the same," Kuroko replied. "And I don't know when this is over considering none of you will tell me anything."
Midorima continued typing away on his laptop. "From my estimation, just one or two more days and everything will go back to normal."
Kuroko placed his arms on the table and buried his head on it, hiding his face and any reaction he might had. "I'm scared to ask but…" he trailed off, "those people who attacked my parents, you're going to kill them, aren't you?"
Midorima was quiet for a while and only the light tapping sounds of the keyboard filled the room until it stopped. "We're vampires Kuroko, natural predators," he said at last. "All of us have done things in the past that we're not proud of. But that's it, it's all in the past and what we can do is to never let that happen again. And yes, we're going to kill them but remember Kuroko that they're also vampires. If we don't kill them, they'll continue doing disastrous things and we can't let that happen."
"Don't vampires have any police or some kind of law to control you?"
"We do have laws and even traditions," Midorima answered. "But our laws are mostly vague since vampires don't want to be restricted to anything. We're free to do as we please but some abuses that freedom to do badly. That's the reason why many vampires were at war before but it seems to dwindle now as time passes. So in a way, we police our own. The only important law or more like a rule for us is to never let human society know about vampires and even the rebellious ones adhere to this."
Kuroko removed his head from resting on his arms and looked up at the green head. "But some humans know you, right? Like your, um, feeders."
"That's true," Midorima nodded. "But those humans' loyalties are to us and some families have been feeders to a coven for generations. They're compensated financially all their lives for their services."
"I see," Kuroko hummed. "So vampires are rich?" Midorima only raised an eyebrow at his droll query which was already an answer enough. He watched as Midorima focused his attention back to his work, typing on his laptop all the while perusing the opened files on the table. "Why did they attack my parents?"
Midorima paused in mid-typing and turned to him in surprise. Kuroko was also surprised at his own question. Midorima sighed as he closed his laptop and stood up, walking over to a shelf and took out something. He gently placed it down in front of him and Kuroko saw it was a picture; a black and white photo of Akashi and his coven wearing clothes from an old time. Turning it around, he saw that it was dated back at 1908.
"It was taken after Kise joined our coven," Midorima explained. "Individually, we're pretty well known because of our own strength with Akashi and Aomine as the most popular out of us. If strong individual renowned vampires formed a coven with the known most powerful vampire in the world as its leader, what do you think will happen?"
Kuroko put down the picture after staring at it thoughtfully. "So Aomine-kun wasn't joking when he said Akashi-kun has many enemies," he said, finally understanding. "Does this happen often?"
"Not really," answered Midorima, taking the photo and put it back in place before going back to his seat. "Most of our enemies attack us. This was the first time someone strike some people we know and innocent humans at that. It's unprecedented."
"So…" said Kuroko, gazing at Midorima, "your coven is the most powerful in the world?"
"It sounds exaggerating but yes, it's the truth."
"Does that mean you're like the vampires' leaders or something? And since Akashi-kun is your leader, he's kind of like the president or emperor?"
"No," Midorima replied, sighing though he did seem amused at the emperor comment. "It's true Akashi has a huge influence but he's not the president as you say. We have the so-called vampire council governing us. And I'm using the word governing loosely."
Kuroko tilted his head to the side in interest. "Vampire council?"
Midorima was saved from responding when a ping sound came from his laptop. Checking on it, he said, "Sorry Kuroko but vampire lessons are over for now. I have to get back to this."
"Alright," Kuroko complied and stood up from his chair. "I'll see you later Midorima-kun. And I'm looking forward to that vampire lessons."
Midorima let out a small smile for that, shaking his head in amusement and went back to his work. Kuroko let himself out of the room all the while smiling.
xXx
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Aomine sighed for the umpteenth time at Kise's question. "Yes," he growled, tightly gripping the steering wheel in annoyance. "So stop asking! You're grating on my nerves!"
"Jeez, I was just making sure. You don't have to growl at me," said Kise, raising his hands in defeat. "For the record, I really think that this is a bad idea. Murasakicchi was right. You do have a soft spot when it comes to kids."
Aomine looked up at roof of his car, seeking patience. "If you're that worried, call Akashi and ask him what he thinks."
"I am so going to do that," Kise said as he fetched his phone and immediately dialed his leader's number. This would show Aomine. He was pretty sure Akashi would take his side since Aomine's plan was too reckless to even think about.
"Ryouta, what is it?"
"Ah, Akashicchi, Aominecchi is planning something despicable! Stop him!" Kise ignored the annoyed glare Aomine was giving him at his words.
"And what is this plan Ryouta?"
"He's planning to sneak in the orphanage with Daisuke-kun and Emi-chan. He said the kids will create some distraction while he captures the director's associates. Aominecchi is using them as baits!"
"Was Daiki the one who planned it or the boy?"
"Uh…" Kise paused and looked at Aomine, who disregarded his questioning look and concentrated on driving.
"Ryouta, I know you're worried about the kids' well-being but I think it's a good idea. Those children know every nook and cranny of the orphanage so they can guide Daiki to slip in and catch the director and his contacts. And if I remember correctly, you told me the boy was some kind of leader to the rest of the children and I'm sure he can convince them to help."
"I get it but I'm still worried, they're kids. They shouldn't be doing this."
"That's why you're there Ryouta. Protect them and I know you'll be able to convince some of the workers there to help you and those kids, too. Those children need this. They want to free themselves out of the director's clutches. And we're going to help them in succeeding their justice."
Kise sighed, yielding. "Okay, I'll do it. But won't Aominecchi need my help since you said those vampires who attacked Kurokocchi's home might be present?" He glanced up at Aomine when he heard him snort in indignation.
"Ryouta, this is Daiki we're talking about. He can take care of himself. Your first priority is the children but in case Daiki needs some backup, go to him after seeing those children are safe."
"Okay, um, Akashicchi, where are you? Aren't you going with us, too?"
"Vampires will be there at the orphanage for that I am certain but the masterminds behind it won't. I'm trailing clues after them. Whether it will lead me to the orphanage is still up in the air. Though there's a huge probability that they won't."
Kise blinked, confused. "Eh? What do you mean Akashicchi?"
"Our enemy knows us. They tipped their hands at their attack on Tetsuya's house and knew we'll investigate. They're cutting their losses now and the orphanage is one of them."
Kise's hold on his cellphone tightened marginally. "So if we haven't meddled with the kids, they'll probably endure worse than this."
"Yes, much, much worse."
"Are you going to fight them Akashicchi once you've find them? Maybe Midorimacchi should go with you. I mean, I know you can take care of yourself but, you know, just in case."
"I'll be fine Ryouta. There's a definite possibility I won't see them and in turn engage them in a fight. But I will figure out their identities at the end of this. Shintarou will communicate with me. Don't worry about me and concentrate on the children."
"Okay Akashicchi," Kise agreed. "Be careful."
"You, too."
Aomine turned to his left at Kise as he hanged up. "Done?" he asked and Kise nodded. "Told you Akashi will okay it."
"You said no such thing."
"Whatever," said Aomine, shrugging. "Tell your ex we're going to take the brats tonight."
"Eh?! Why do I have to? It's your idea," Kise complained, crossing his arms over his chest petulantly. "You should be the one making up excuses to Haru-chan."
"I'm not the one who had a past relationship with her or the one who got the bright idea to dump some orphan kids to her last night. Plus, it's not like she knows me."
Kise blinked. "That's not true. Haru-chan knows you. She actually has a crush on you and wanted to hook up with you after we broke up."
"I've got no time for this," Aomine grumbled in exasperation. "Just tell her!"
"Okay, okay, sheesh!"
Kise knew Aomine was in a foul mood from what he didn't know. Sure, he was being annoying but that was kind of a default from him whenever Aomine was around. Aomine was fine this morning and was acting usual and even seemed excited for tonight. "Did something happen, Aominecchi?" he asked. He couldn't help it. "Do you get a bad feeling?"
Aomine drummed a finger on the wheel thoughtfully. "I think I know who's behind this," he revealed after a moment.
"You do?"
"Yeah," Aomine whispered, looking pensive. "I think Akashi does, too. That's why he's not with us." Seeing Haru's mansion ahead, Aomine waited for the gate to open and drove forward when it did since the staff knew they were coming. He parked in front of the huge door and turned the ignition off. "If they're sniffing around Tetsu's family…"
Now Kise was getting apprehensive. "Who are they, Aominecchi?"
Aomine didn't get a chance to answer when they sensed Haru and the kids coming towards them. "Later," was his only response as he got out of the car with Kise following suit.
After greeting everyone, Haru invited both of them inside for coffee and Kise used the opportunity to talk to her in private about taking the kids out later while Aomine told the kids about his plan. Since Kise fed Haru some excuse of wanting to bond with the children tonight, she easily gave her permission to take them. He wondered if Aomine convinced the kids of his idea but knowing how protective and loyal Daisuke was and Emi went wherever Daisuke was, Kise knew they would agree.
Kise and Aomine was supposed to leave after lunch but Emi begged them to stay and Haru insisted upon it and left them with no choice. Daisuke suggested going to the park but deviated to a street ball court instead when the boy found out Aomine played basketball. Kise refused to play and just sat beside Haru on the bench while Aomine taught Daisuke with Emi cheering both of them from the side.
"I'm planning on adopting them," said Haru out of nowhere.
Kise choked on air and turned disbelievingly at Haru beside him. He stared at her and even though they broke up years ago, he still marveled at her beauty. Even being at mid-thirties, she still had this youthful glow on her, with her deep auburn hair swaying by the wind, her porcelain skin and gorgeous figure. But what he always liked about her were her translucent green eyes. Those eyes show how happy she was and how she enjoyed life to the fullest.
Kise kind of envied that about her as even though he lived for a long while, he wasn't exactly enjoying it. Sure, he indulged himself to material things and riches and he even had a coven he perfectly belongs that he considered family and sometimes he was happy and content with his life. But maybe that was precisely the reason why he was jaded because Haru appreciated life and would probably peacefully accept death when it came. Kise, on the other hand, reveled in death while life was arduous to him.
"What do you mean you're going to adopt them?" Kise asked, wondering where this came from.
Haru continued watching them. "I know you're not telling me the whole story and I'm not asking for it. But I know those two needs a family to provide for them. It's not difficult to see they're carrying some heavy baggage within them and I want to help them unload it. I've only known them for a day but it's not hard to fall in love with them."
She looked up at Kise, her eyes glistening with tears. "My husband and I have been trying to have kids for years. We consulted many doctors from here and abroad but they found nothing wrong. I pray every single day for us to have children and when you came yesterday with Emi-chan and Daisuke-kun, I just knew they were the answers to my prayers."
Melancholy, she gave him a soft, sweet smile. "I hope you can fix their problem so they can stay with me. And please protect them and try to stop them, especially Daisuke-kun, to do something reckless. I'll explain to my husband about tonight."
Kise was shocked that Haru realized they were taking the kids to a dangerous task. And even gave him her blessing. "You're not mad?"
"No," Haru shook her head. "They need this so they can move forward. It's a closure to this painful chapter of their lives. I don't want this hanging over their heads for their entire lives."
Kise let out a small smile. "You're really perceptive Haru-chan."
"I know. It's the reason why I broke up with you," Haru admitted. "Because I can't make you happy and I know I'm not the one you want. And also, you have a lot of secrets and I'm afraid I can't unbury them all."
Kise leaned back against the bench and turned his face to the wide blue sky, watching the drifting clouds as they slowly passed by. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
"You have nothing to apologize for. It's not your fault. It's for the best anyway. I'm happy with my life now and will be happier if I have those kids with me."
Kise faced Haru and gave her a genuine smile. "You'll be a wonderful mother to them Haru-chan."
"I hope so, too," said Haru. "So I can have everything I could wish for. Well, except for one thing and that's for you to be happy Kise-kun."
"I'm getting there," Kise truthfully confessed.
They were both silent after that, their attention back to the kids and Aomine on the court. Kise was glad he got to talk with Haru. At least one of his worries was alleviated. But he still couldn't erase this tingling of fear about Aomine's suspicion.
xXx
Midorima wandered around the vast expanse of the mansion's estate, scoping out the traps hidden and checked if they were working. There was a reason why he chose this place as their home with its hidden and secluded location from prying eyes or ears but still situated near a town; the overgrown trees from the garden which helped camouflage traps and even the mansion itself that he had reconstructed to be a fortress with a strong foundation plus, state-of-the-art security alarms. It's a perfect place for them especially now that Kuroko was living with them.
With security and protection now in place, Midorima knew he should leave so he could set up at an obscure location near the orphanage since he was Kise and Aomine's back-up as well as maintaining support to Akashi. Murasakibara could perfectly protect Kuroko by himself but he was still worried (even if he wouldn't admit it out loud) since they would be left alone. Lots of worse case scenarios came up in his head.
First and foremost being, what if the mansion got attacked?
But Akashi wouldn't leave Kuroko unprotected if he knew that was one of the outcomes. Midorima just had to trust Akashi on that. And Murasakibara wasn't stupid. If the mansion was breached, he would quickly take Kuroko to a safe location and contact them.
Midorima sighed and willed his paranoia to a minimum as he entered inside the mansion, looking for both Murasakibara and Kuroko and when he didn't sensed them in the first floor; he headed upstairs to Murasakibara's room to check. He gave a warning knock, opening the door and saw both of them lounging on the bed with various photo albums spread around them.
Kuroko looked up and upon seeing him, greeted. "Hello, Midorima-kun."
"Do you need something Mido-chin?" Murasakibara asked, not even bothering to sit up and continued lying on the bed.
"Nothing," Midorima answered. "I'm leaving now. I thought I should let you know."
Kuroko stared at him contemplatively. "Whenever one of you is leaving it worries me a bit. Like one of you will come back injured again or not come back at all."
Midorima knew where Kuroko was coming from. "That won't happen again."
"You can't promise that," Kuroko refuted. "You can't predict the future."
"Then, we promise to never let that happen."
Kuroko gave him a small, relieved smile. "Much better."
Midorima nodded then looked at the albums on the bed, finally noticing it was the coven's albums Kise collected and assembled. "What are you doing with those albums?" he asked, switching his look from Kuroko to Murasakibara.
"Kuro-chin wanted to look at them," Murasakibara answered. "He said he was curious how we look like before."
Midorima raised an eyebrow as he regarded Kuroko. "What brought this on?"
"You know that picture you've shown me before?" asked Kuroko to which he nodded. "That was the first time I've seen everyone's picture and it piqued my interest so I asked Murasakibara-kun if you have more and showed me this."
Murasakibara opened one album and handed it to Kuroko. "It's a good thing Kise-chin likes taking pictures," he commented.
"You mean you took those photo albums from Kise's room without permission?" asked Midorima.
Murasakibara uncaringly shrugged his shoulders. "Kise-chin won't mind especially since Kuro-chin requested it. He's just going to mope around that it wasn't him who showed it but he'll get over it."
True enough. Kise didn't mind if anyone rummaged through his things in his room (since most of the time he pawed through their closets to add more clothes anyway) with the exception of Aomine since he always made a mess of things and at times Murasakibara since he left food crumbs all the time.
"Well, I leave you two to that then," Midorima said before catching Murasakibara's eye and gave him a silent message to take care of Kuroko to which Murasakibara answered with a lazy stare of I already know that, you don't have to tell me twice. He glared at Murasakibara for his nonchalant comeback.
"Are you reading each other's mind or silently communicating?"
Kuroko's comment brought them both to a pause and they turned to him. "Vampires can't read minds," was Midorima's automatic response.
"Silent communication then," Kuroko idly said.
Midorima deemed no response, not that it needed one. "I'll see you both tomorrow."
"Take care Midorima-kun."
"Bye Mido-chin~"
Midorima left Murasakibara's room, closing the door behind him as he walked over to his room to get his supplies and his laptop since his rifles and crossbow was already in the trunk of the car. Wasting no time, he head over to the garage and walked towards the less inconspicuous car they had (thankfully, it was black, too) amidst the ostentatious sports and vintage cars Kise bought and collected for all of them (Akashi liked them, too so he let Kise buy whatever he wanted) and Aomine's motorbikes.
Peeling away from the mansion, Midorima silently drove to the direction of Himawari Orphanage. Glancing at his watch as he waited for the green light, he saw it was only half past ten, plenty of time for him to prepare. Since he already canvassed the orphanage's perimeter and found a rundown building near it with a perfect view of its garden at the back, he decided it was the ideal place. As planned, Aomine would handle the associates or vampires inside while Kise oversaw the children's and the workers' safety and Midorima would take care of the ones escaping in the back.
Midorima parked a few blocks away from both the orphanage and the building as he got off the car carrying his supplies on one hand while he slung the duffel bag containing his guns and crossbow over his shoulder and headed to the building all the while looking if anyone was near.
Once he got on the rooftop, Midorima immediately set off to work. Propping the rifles in its stand equidistant to each other, he checked the scope to see if he got the right angle and was satisfied when it did. He settled the crossbow and arrows, with pure silver on the tip, beside him just in case and powered up his laptop. Since all their phones have GPS tracker, he located his coven's whereabouts. It seemed Aomine and Kise were still at Kuroma residence while Akashi…
Midorima's eyes narrowed at Akashi's location. What is Akashi doing in Shizuoka? Feeling the vibration of his phone in his pocket, he took it out and read Aomine's message.
Aomine: where are you?
Midorima: In position.
Aomine: we'll be there in 20. akashi?
Midorima: In Shizuoka.
Aomine: what the hell is he doing in shizuoka?
Midorima: That's what I would like to know, too.
Kise: Akashicchi said he's following clues.
Aomine: all the way to shizuoka?!
Kise: That's what he said. You were there!
Midorima: Why are you texting each other when you're in the same place?
Aomine: whatever. anyway, we have baggage.
Kise: Don't call the kids baggage, Aominecchi. And it was your idea.
Midorima: Are you sure you can do your mission with them in tow.
Aomine: we'll make do
Kise: Midorimacchi, can you contact Akashicchi? I'm getting worried.
Aomine: why? it's Akashi. he doesn't need coddling
Kise: At least worry about your own leader Aominecchi!
Midorima: I'll contact him later.
Kise: Thanks Midorimacchi. See you later.
Aomine: later
Midorima's brows furrowed in contemplation as Kise's words bounced in his mind. Akashi wasn't the type to shadow clues or marks directly; he always let someone else handle it. Akashi only did that when he had his own private reason and wanted to take care of it personally.
Certainly, Kuroko was unknowingly caught up in this mess but it was still not enough reason for Akashi to handle things himself. There must be a more huge reason for Akashi to act now. The only thing Midorima could think of was perhaps Akashi had an inkling to who their enemies were.
And possibly a dangerous one at that.
The ear comm in Midorima's left ear buzzed to life, snapping him out of his reverie. "Akashi?"
"Shintarou, are you in position?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"Akashi, why are you in Shizuoka?"
"My mark led me here."
Midorima paused. "Akashi, you're not thinking of going into the enemy's hideout alone, right?"
"Of course not, Shintarou. And I'm certain their main base isn't here but it's worth investigating."
"Maybe we should check it in another time where you have back-up. Kise seems really worried when I told him where you are. "
"And risk losing our only clue, I don't think so. And you need not worry, Shintarou. And just like I said to Ryouta, I can take care of myself."
"Fine," Midorima sighed. He knew he neither anyone could stop Akashi. "Do you need any help Akashi?"
"No, I do—"
Midorima stiffened when Akashi broke off. "Akashi, what's wrong? Are you okay? Akashi?"
"I'm fine, Shintarou. We'll talk later."
"What? Akashi, what are you—"Midorima froze when the communication cut off. "Akashi!"
xXx
Leaning against the swing post, Aomine buried his hands deep in his jacket's pocket as a chilly night wind softly brushed past them, carrying the crisp autumn air and raining down the combined hue of orange, yellow and red fallen, dried maple leaves, its warm shade contrasting the dark and cold surrounding of the park all the while listening to Kise's final instructions to the kids about their task.
"Do you understand Daisuke-kun, Emi-chan?" Kise said as he crouched down in front of the kids, who were sitting on the swing set. "Don't do anything reckless no matter what. If you're in trouble just shout for me or Aominecchi."
Daisuke leaned forward, his hands gripping the swing chains tightly. "But what if we're too far apart like you're on the third floor while we're on the first floor? Everything will be in chaos and you can't probably hear us scream when that happens."
"Don't worry," Kise smiled reassuringly. "We would hear you. And I promise we'll come rushing to you."
Emi nervously fiddled with her fingers and Aomine could hear the soft pitter-pattering of her heartbeat. "Kise nii-san, are you sure everything will be over after this?" she asked. "What if…what if this doesn't work? Does that mean we'll go back to orphanage and leave Mama Haru and Papa Hideki? I don't want to leave them! I can't go back there!"
Kise carefully picked the little girl in his arms, rubbing her back and patting her head as Emi cried, burying her tear stained face onto his shoulder. "There, there, Emi-chan. I promise, you won't go back to that orphanage and you'll continue to stay at Haru-chan's." he comforted. "You need to trust us, okay? Everything will be fine."
Aomine watched as Kise pacified the girl and then shifted his eyes to Daisuke, who seemed to be deep in thought and he could plainly see him planning something. "What about you?" he asked, surprising the boy. "What do you think about this?"
Daisuke watched Aomine with intelligent eyes. He really was mature for his age. "You seem to know what you're doing and you're pretty confident your plan will work. I'm actually surprised you included us. But Emi is right, what if this doesn't work. What are you going to do?"
"It's good that you're thinking of all possibilities," answered Aomine. "But you're not the only one who'll get the short end of the stick if we fail. If we don't succeed, a person important to me—to my friends will be targeted and I can't let that happen. If failure is all you'll think about then success won't reach your grasp. Focus your attention on our goal than anything then do everything in your power to get it. That's how we win."
Stunned, everyone stared at him with wide eyes. "Aominecchi is giving good advice?" Kise muttered, disbelief obvious in his voice.
Aomine's left eye twitched in annoyance. Was it that shocking he could give sound advice? Even the brats were astounded and they'd only known him for like a day. "Are you going to stare at me all night or are we going?"
Kise snapped out of his daze and motioned for Daisuke to follow him to the car parked in front of the park while carrying Emi and ushered them to the back seat. Aomine was close behind them and stealthily took the keys from Kise (who stole it from his jacket while he was playing basketball with Daisuke), whistling as he climbed to the driver's seat and ignored Kise's complaints.
The drive to the orphanage was silent, each of them to their own thoughts, probably readying themselves for the upcoming situation. Aomine parked a few blocks away from the orphanage and climbed out of the car, the rest following him.
"So how do we get in again?" asked Kise, giving an inquiring look at Daisuke since the boy knew the ins and outs of the orphanage as well as some hidden paths.
Daisuke unconsciously took Emi's hand. "We'll take the back door to the kitchen, the one least used. From there, we'll go to the bedrooms and wake my friends and I'll quickly tell them what's happening. They know all the traps I laid and can use it. After that, we'll separate; Kise-san will go with Emi to the second floor and persuade the worker's to help us while I led Aomine-san to the director's office using the hidden passageway. The rest will be on Aomine-san."
Kise blinked in surprise at the boy. "You planned all that?"
"It's not much," Daisuke said, shrugging. "And I know it won't go smoothly but it's better than nothing."
"True," Aomine agreed. "We'll take care of it if something unexpected happen."
So with a hasty plan in action, they made their way to the orphanage with Daisuke leading, Emi beside him still holding hands. Kise hanged back until he and Aomine were side by side. "What if they encountered vampires? They can't find out about us."
"You think I'll let them face a vampire much less see me go all out?" Aomine claimed. "Once I checked the vampires' presence, I'll send Daisuke to you and make sure no vampire follows him. Your job is the children and workers plus the director and his associates' guards. I think those traps will help, too."
Kise recalled Aomine cursing about some trap on the phone yesterday. "So you got caught in those traps, too huh?" he teased.
"Shut up," Aomine grumbled, pocketing his hands.
"Wait a sec," said Kise, giving him a suspicious look. "The ropes you asked. That's why you let me and Emi-chan go first so you can lay more traps with Daisuke-kun. You already planned on coming back here to catch the director even without Akashicchi's permission. And with the kids in tow!"
Aomine smacked Kise at the back of his head. "Lower your voice, idiot," he said, glancing at the kids if they heard and breathed out a sigh of relief when they didn't. "And it's not like I always follow Akashi's orders. I'm not Murasakibara or even Midorima."
"Still…you're really stubborn Aominecchi," Kise remarked. "Well, I don't think you're going to be the only obstinate one anymore. Kurokocchi seems to be good at defying Akashicchi. I've never seen Akashicchi so…" he trailed off, not seeming to find the right words.
"Whipped?" Aomine supplied.
Kise let out a sour look. "Whipped seems too much. I meant that Akashicchi looks more mellow and relaxed whenever he's with Kurokocchi."
"Akashi isn't mellow or relaxed right now."
"Well, duh! We have some enemy hunting us down. Anyone will be worked up about that." Kise eyed him warily. "Speaking of, you haven't told me about your speculation yet."
Aomine was quiet for a moment, organizing his thoughts. "You don't know them. We have a skirmish with them just before you joined us. It was a chaos full of blood. All those nonstop fighting, senseless killing and for what, power and prominence? That's bullshit but it's not like we can run. We have no choice but to fight. Sometimes being strong isn't all it's cracked up to be.
"Their leader went to hide like a coward when our win was guaranteed. Akashi just left it that and didn't pursue him. We didn't know he was just waiting for the right time to strike again. If I knew this would happen, I would have hunted that bastard down and torture him until he wished he was dead."
Kise focused his sight to Daisuke and Emi, who were laughing quietly, their hands swinging together, as if it was just a normal night for them and not going to a potentially dangerous situation. "There's no point in dwelling on what-if scenarios Aominecchi. All we can do now is to be prepared for what's to come."
"Yeah," Aomine agreed. "You're right."
They all stopped when they were at the back entrance of the orphanage and to the kitchen door covered with vines that Daisuke pointed at. Aomine brushed the vines away before turning to Daisuke. "Okay, I'll go first, Daisuke behind me so you can point the way and then Emi. Kise, you'll guard the rear." He moved his hand to the doorknob, twisting it open. "Let's do this."
Daisuke already warned him that the door was stuck so it would be difficult to open but due to his strength it was easy enough though it did give a squeak. However Daisuke said not to worry since it was a usual sound in the orphanage because of its antiquity.
Aomine followed the boy's instructions as they treaded softly on the first floor to the children's quarters. They all came to a halt in front of the door Daisuke pointed at and Aomine motioned for him to go first with Emi close behind him and Kise closed the door once they were inside.
Daisuke crept to the farthest bed in the room, waking the slumbering kid on it. The kid woke up in an instant, alarmed but seemed to calm down when he saw Daisuke. The kid glanced at Aomine and Kise guardedly as he listened to Daisuke's story but nonetheless nodded, agreeing to his plan.
Emi, on the other hand, went to the nearest bed to them, waking up a girl, who was probably the oldest of them. She explained the same thing as Daisuke did and the girl seemed to support them as she woke up the rest of the children, taking half of the helm with the other boy.
The two leaders signaled for them to go on, having knowing what to do with some kids leaving the room to check on the traps while the rest were on standby.
Aomine wasn't exactly assured that the kids were in on the plan and at the corner of his eye; he knew Kise was, too. Daisuke and Emi were okay since he could protect both of them but all these children…it would be a pain in the ass but it was his plan to use them so he had no choice but to stick with it.
They left the bedroom after forcing a promise to the kids to not do anything rash. When they stepped on the second floor, Daisuke gestured for Emi to lead Kise to the worker's room. Emi, though reluctant, did as she was told and took Kise's hand as they slunk away to the hallway.
Aomine patted the boy on the back, beckoning for him to go on. He wasn't worried about Emi since Kise was with her. He was also sure Kise could work his charm on the workers into helping them—the kids to be more exact.
Aomine silently trailed after Daisuke, half-listening to the voices coming from the other part of the third floor. It was only a stroke of luck when they took Daisuke and Emi and found out that today was when the director and his associates had their monthly meeting according to Daisuke. And since the news of the kids' disappearance especially Emi's, they called their contact from the coven's enemies which in turn made the vampires associated with the attack at Kuroko's parents to show up. Too bad it wasn't the masterminds but Aomine would take what he could get.
Daisuke went to a room, gently opening the door and gestured for him to follow. Aomine gauged the room which was a tiny classroom full of tables and chairs with a white board in the front. He watched as Daisuke moved the bookshelf at the back of the room, reaching from books to books as if searching for something.
Aomine was about to ask what he was looking for when Daisuke pulled a book and the shelf split into half, revealing a dark corridor. "When you said hidden passage I didn't expect hidden passage like in the movies," he stated. "Didn't anyone know about this?"
"Not really, no," answered Daisuke, taking out a mini flashlight from his pocket and turned it on. "Grammy, the old director, was a descendant of the orphanage's first owner and knew all the hidden passageways and told me all about it. I was the only one she told and said I might need them in the future which I did. She also told me about the bobby traps built in the house."
"So this Grammy, is she related to the new director?" asked Aomine, walking behind the boy as his eyes adjusted to the dark.
"No. Grammy's only relative is her granddaughter in France and she inherited the orphanage. But from what I heard, she doesn't have any plans in going back to Japan so she entrusted it to the vice-director, who in turn gave it to one of its sponsors. The new director got the first dibs and became the owner."
"I'm surprised you know all about this."
Daisuke shrugged his small shoulders. "I always go here to eavesdrop on the director. He's a chatterbox when he thinks he's alone and spewed all his plans for me to hear."
Aomine tensed at the reminder. Daisuke told him all the director's plan about selling the kids to a farce family in the guise of adoption and the rejected kids would be handed to one associate to claim. It was a sure bet that the associate was a vampire and would probably force the kids to be blood feeders or even turn them into vampire soldiers.
"Are you sure none of the kids have been sold yet?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Daisuke nodded. "The last kid adopted was Kana-chan and Grammy supervised it personally. The director was still making sure who will be sold or not and showed us off to his friends."
Aomine bit his tongue so he couldn't pry for more. He wasn't dense enough to figure out Daisuke was uncomfortable at their topic.
"We're here," Daisuke announced and crouched down, peering at the director's room from a small hole.
Aomine copied the boy and bent down and after finding a small hole, used it to peek inside. He appraised the people inside and spotted the director right away since he was sitting behind the table. He also noticed Kise's target from the party, who actually led him to the orphanage. All in all, there were only ten people inside—no wait, eleven including the vampire blending himself to the shadows at the corner of the room.
Aomine glanced up at the ceiling, hearing muted footsteps from there and knew they were vampires. It was a safe bet to say there were vampires outside the room, too. Whether they were there for security or to assassinate the director and his associates was anyone's guess. Midorima could perfectly take care of the vampires outside while he handled the ones inside.
Turning to Daisuke beside him, Aomine whispered. "Daisuke, go back to Kise and Emi." He handed him a box and stared hard at the boy, rebuking no complaints. "I'll take care of this."
Daisuke looked between the box in his hands then at the director's room and him. "Are you sure? What if you need help?"
"I can take those assholes anytime without sweat. And if by chance I'll need help Kise will know so don't worry."
Daisuke gazed at Aomine, assessing his seriousness and nodded in compliance, putting the box inside the knapsack on his back which Aomine wasn't sure what for. "I'll see you later Aomine-san. You better be okay after this."
"Of course, I will," Aomine nodded and watched Daisuke's retreating figure in the dark. The boy was smart so Aomine wasn't really worried he would encounter trouble before meeting up with Kise.
Aomine took his cellphone out and texted a blank message to Midorima, he knew what it meant.
It was show time.
xXx
A loud scream coming from the third floor of the orphanage pierced through the quiet night.
It was a definite sign that they were almost halfway through their mission. Kise knew Aomine was fighting the vampires on the third floor and capturing the humans linked to the director. Midorima was probably shooting down the vampires outside on the roof.
A tug on his sleeve snapped his musings and Kise stared down at the bothered looking Emi. "Kise nii-san, I'm worried about Daisuke-kun and Aomine-san," she said, gripping his sleeve tightly by her little hand.
"Don't worry Emi-chan. Aominecchi is strong," Kise reassured her. "And you'll see Daisuke-kun soon."
Kise's eyes scanned the children's bedroom which turned into their kind of headquarters. The kids were more organized than he thought and watched them as they worked together. The girl Emi woke up—Mari—was hollering at the other kids, waving a paper in the air. The paper was from Daisuke, who handed it to Emi and she gave it to Mari. It was instructions about the booby traps located near and inside the bedroom. According from Mari, Daisuke said on the note that the bedroom was the most secured place in the house and for them to stay there and made it their base.
Kise shifted his attention to the workers and sighed when he saw them looking bewildered at the kids who were running around doing their own errands. It was like the situation was flipped and instead of the adults directing and protecting the children, it was the other way around. It took a lot of effort and charm for him to convince them to help. He could see the emotional and even physical trauma they'd suffered but if these children were determined and courageous to face their own nightmares then they should too even if they were reluctant.
Kise was about to approached them but was beaten by Takeshi—Daisuke's best friend (and kind of his right hand man, probably) and watched as he talked to them and gave them their own tasks. The workers appeared hesitant but did their own share and helped.
Jeez, these kids have the potential to be anything they want to be especially Takeshi and Mari. Also, Daisuke, that kid can be a strategist in the future.
"About time you dolts moved," a middle-aged man with raven hair, some of it turning gray, dark brown eyes and well-built body sardonically muttered as he regarded the workers. "Hiding behind the little back of these children, what the hell are you here for?"
Mari moved towards the man. "Nakamura-san, it's fine," she said, placing a gentle hand on the man's arm. "They're here and they agreed to help us. That's all that matters."
Nakamura scoffed. "It's not like they were the only ones who got hurt by those bastards. You kids experienced almost the same thing and you're children. And look, you handle things more maturely than them. What a disgrace!"
Although a part of him agreed with the man, Kise thought that was enough and decided to intervene before any discord could happen. This was truly not a good time for that. "Um, Nakamura-san, I think we should focus more on the intruders coming our way. You can reprimand them later."
Nakamura swung a fierce glare at Kise. "You," he hissed, pointing an accusing finger at him. "I don't know you but that brat, Daisuke and sweet Emi trusts you and I ain't complaining—"
But you are, Kise wanted to say but shut his mouth.
"—so I'm keeping my mouth shut but don't tell me how to handle these idiots"—Nakamura jerked an annoyed thumb at the workers—"that's my job."
Kise raised his hands in compliance. "Yes, I get that. But I can hear the guards coming here so I thought we should concentrate on that."
"He's right," Takeshi interjected, glancing at Kise warily while holding a cellphone lent by one of the workers. "I got a message from Team One; three guards are coming here from the right and two on the left. Team One and Two will handle them."
"Don't forget Team Three," said Mari, showing the phone on her hand. "Two of them are coming from the window."
"How do we catch them from the window?" one kid asked. "We didn't prepare for that."
Kise blinked and shook his head. He really felt like he was on a battlefield with how Takeshi and Mari were overseeing the operation. "Don't worry about them. We have a sniper scoping outside." He thought he said too much but was relieved when a couple of kids mumbled "cool". Damn, but was there nothing that could faze these kids?
"Fine," Nakamura grumbled and regarded all the kids and workers. "You know what to do. But don't go overboard and be a hero. Run as fast as you can when you're in a pinch."
Kise opened his mouth to say that they wouldn't be in a pinch because he was there when they heard a crash just outside the door. Everyone was tensed and Kise took the initiative to go to the door since he was the only who could fight. The door opened itself before he could touch the knob and took a step back when he saw one kid behind the door.
"Team One reporting," the kid said, looking at Takeshi and Mari. "We caught the guards. Team Two got theirs, too."
Kise gazed at the kid, stunned. Was he even needed there? They seemed to take good care of themselves. He wondered how the director got them to be so scared of him. Then again, the children looked more angry than scared; it must be their strong mentality. He hoped the adults—with the exception of Nakamura—snapped out of their misery.
Kise also got the feeling why the kids were so unified, it was because of Daisuke. He must have been planning on catching the director by himself for weeks, maybe even months and prepared many traps, giving instructions to the other kids and waited for the right opportunity before it was too late. It was a half-baked idea but Kise commended Daisuke for actually thinking about escaping the nightmare they were in and taking the guts to do it.
"Just got a text from Team Five," said Mari and everyone turned to her. "Daisuke is coming here."
Emi, who still stuck to Kise like glue, looked surprised. "But why?"
Mari shrugged and focused her gaze at him. "Don't know. But he said he's meeting up with Kise-san."
Kise nodded, a bit distracted and focused his hearing outside and ignored the chaos two floors above them. He stared down at the newly arrived kid. "Hey, where's Team One and Team Two at?" he asked.
"Team One's near the stairs. Team Two is setting up on the library."
"Pull Team One out and go back here to defend," Kise instructed and faced Takeshi and Nakamura. "Enemies are coming and they're strong so I need to take care of them. Don't let anyone in or out, got it?"
"But what about Daisuke-kun, Kise nii-san?" asked Emi.
Kise patted her on the head. "I'll meet him halfway."
And without any other words, Kise left the room. His senses heightened to a degree and detected a couple of vampires getting near. He saw Team One and gestured for them to hurry up though without them giving him a thoughtful look but did as ordered.
With the coast clear, Kise dropped the act, running fast and kicked the vampire coming down from the stairs hard on the stomach. He quickly ducked down as a sword swung above him. Punching the vampire's wrist holding the sword, he took it and flipped it over; stabbing the vampire he kicked behind him while he pierced the chest of the vampire in front of him barehanded, closing on the heart and crushed it.
Not caring about the blood raining down on him, Kise pulled the sword back and swung it upward, beheading another vampire. He took a sidestepped and evaded the bullet fired at him. Lowering his body, he advanced to the vampire, dodging the firing bullets and thrust his sword forward to its chest, instantly killing him.
Sensing another presence behind him, he immediately swung his sword and luckily halted just inches from Daisuke's neck. Kise blinked, shaking off the bloodlust and his eyes widened when Daisuke's presence registered in his brain. "Daisuke-kun!"
Daisuke didn't say anything and just stared blankly at him. It took a few seconds for Kise to realize he just killed vampires and was even covered in blood from head to toe. "Uh…I'm, uh, Daisuke-kun…"
Daisuke looked over at the ashes from the vampires' corpses and Kise was sweating bullets, wondering if Daisuke saw him fighting. "Here," said Daisuke, handing him a handkerchief. "At least wipe the blood off your face."
Flabbergasted, Kise mechanically took the offered handkerchief, cleaning the blood off his face as best as he could. "Daisuke-kun, aren't you—"
"Aomine-san told me to go to you and Emi," Daisuke interrupted him, digging in his bag and passed a box on Kise's hand. "He gave me that. I assumed it's for you."
Kise looked down between the box on his hand and Daisuke. He appreciated how Daisuke was giving him an out and not probing on what he just witnessed. "Thank you Daisuke-kun," he murmured, grateful.
Daisuke gave a firm nod at his indebted words. "I'll go ahead to Emi. I'll tell them you're busy."
"Okay," Kise nodded. "Also, tell all your teams to fall back. It's going to be chaos in here soon. It's best if they don't get caught in the crossfire."
"Already did," Daisuke calmly informed. "I also told them to take the other way so they won't see you."
Kise smiled at the boy's quick thinking and motioned for him to go on. He watched as Daisuke ran to the children's bedroom without a backward glance before curiously opening the box from Aomine. He let out a brittle laugh when he saw the box empty. Aomine tricked the boy into going back to be safe.
Kise sighed. Midorima and Akashi were so going to lecture him so hard after this.
xXx
Just after Daisuke left, Aomine calculated how to go in the room, killing the vampire without the humans finding out. He was surprised when the vampire didn't hear him and Daisuke talking. Either the vampire was distracted and wasn't focusing enough or he sensed Aomine's presence and pretended to be ignorant to catch him off guard.
Oh well, it didn't really matter to him. Time to get this show on the road.
Aomine kicked the wooden wall hard, destroying it and dashed forward before any of them could react. He advanced to the vampire and landed a hard punch on its stomach, flying backward to the hallway and away from the room. Out of the sight of the humans, Aomine used the opportunity and stake the vampire he kicked. He quickly took out his silencer gun from its holster and rapidly shot the vampires around him.
After six shots, he straightened up and put his gun back. It was done in less than a minute with the humans none the wiser. He went back to the director's room and saw them watching him shock and anger.
"Who the hell are you?" the director shouted.
Aomine didn't reply and knocked out the humans near him. He was onto the others before they could blink, hitting one on the gut and kicked another on the head, just enough to knock him unconscious. He elbowed the human coming up behind him and gave a swift uppercut.
That was five. Another five more to go.
The director grabbed a gun from his drawer in a panic and trained it on him. Unperturbed, Aomine took a sidestepped, avoiding an upcoming punch and brought the human's head down on his knee. He bent low as a bullet zipped by and noticing a hard bound thick book lying beside him, grabbed it, throwing it to the human farthest from him, nailing him on the head.
Calmly skirting around the bullets being fired at him, Aomine ran forward and socked another one on the head. Without turning around, he gave the human behind him a backward punch on the nose.
Aomine glared at the director, who was sweating hard and was running out of breath. He had a fleeting thought of just waiting for the director to pass out due to lack of air but he was pressing for time. He coolly strolled towards the terrified, shaking director.
"D-Don't c-come near or…or I-I'll shoot!"
"You're out of bullets, stupid," was Aomine's short response as he grabbed the director's head and rammed it to the table.
With that done, Aomine turned to the filing cabinet in the room and pulled out the bottom drawer, taking out the ropes he left there last night. He was halfway done in tying up the humans when the crashing sound of the window glass breaking brought him to a halt. He froze and looked back and saw a vampire's corpse quickly crackling to ashes. Must be Midorima's work, he thought. Sensing other vampires coming, he pulled out his gun and trailed it to the door, firing twice before going to back to his work.
With his hands on his hips, Aomine studied his handiwork, the humans all tied up with their feet together and their hands bound on their backs. He tossed the masking tape aside which he used to cover their mouth and texted Kise that he was done with the humans; all that was left was cleaning up the vampires scurrying around the house.
Leaving the room, Aomine went to the stairs and with his acute vision saw Kise fighting on the second floor and some vampires creeping on the first floor to probably take the kids. Without a second thought, he leaped down from the stairs to the ground floor and dropped down on a vampire's head, crushing the skull savagely with his foot, blood splattering all over him and the floor.
What happens next was a blur of blood, dusts and ashes as Aomine killed all the vampires he could get his hands on. He didn't even notice Kise fighting beside him and guarding his back at one time.
Aomine stabbed another vampire with a huff and carefully scanned his surroundings. He turned to Kise and saw him dispatching the last of the vampires. "Since we're done—" he was interrupted when they heard a loud bang coming from the children's bedroom.
Promptly running towards there with Kise following on his heel, Aomine blasted through the door. They froze on their tracks when they saw a vampire holding a girl hostage, a gun on her head. The vampire saw them and took a couple of steps back away from them and the children and workers, dragging the kid with him.
"You can't do anything now," the vampire taunted, looking at Aomine and Kise. "Don't want them knowing anything about us, right?"
Aomine was thinking up on catching the vampire unaware when in the corner of his eye, he saw Daisuke looking at the girl calmly as if communicating silently to her. He grabbed Kise's arm to stop him from going to the vampire and nodded his head to Daisuke. Kise saw the same thing as him and let the children handle it.
"What do you want from the kids?" Aomine asked, giving Daisuke enough time to do his plan while diverting the vampire's attention to him. "It's over. You lost. Let the kid go and I might let you escape."
"Yeah, right," the vampire spitted out harshly. "The dark hunter, the Emperor's Executioner letting his prey go? As if I'll believe that shit. You're going to kill me once I let go of this kid!"
"I won't," Aomine calmly stated. "Just let the girl go. She's just a kid. She's got nothing to do with this."
"I don't care!"
The vampire was too distracted in arguing with Aomine that he didn't notice two workers coming behind him with a baseball bat. The vampire groaned when they whacked him on the head but Aomine knew it wasn't enough to knock out the vampire. He was surprised when the girl bit the vampire's hand, letting her go and Daisuke with a couple of kids took the chance holding a toy gun and blasted it to the vampire, spraying water.
No, not water. It was acid.
The vampire screamed as acid scorched his face and went down. Aomine signaled for the kids to stop and hurriedly hauled the vampire out of the bedroom, leaving the children and workers to Kise's care. Hidden from everyone's view, he quickly killed the vampire with his stake and then let out a weary but relieved sigh as it crumbled into ashes.
Knowing Kise was handling the kids; Aomine inspected the first floor if they were more vampires left, just hiding from him or probably caught in some trap. Seeing nothing, he inspected the second floor, finding some vampires knocked out due to the sleeping gas in the music room and instantly killed them. Wow, those traps sure do worked well. Once clear, Aomine went up the third floor checking everything before going to the director's room and found the humans still out cold. He fished his phone out of his pocket and texted Midorima that it was done.
Aomine went back to the children's room on the first floor and saw Kise sitting beside the girl who was held hostage (though the kid didn't seem distraught) surrounded by the other girls, looking over her. On one side, he saw a man with graying hair bellowing out orders to the workers, who were taking care of some of the younger children.
Aomine's eyes shifted to the corner of the room, away from everyone, where Daisuke and Emi with two other kids were. Daisuke was whispering softly to Emi, who was holding onto him tightly, tears staining her cheeks while the other two kids talked to Daisuke and comforted Emi.
And seeing this, Aomine knew they were going to be all right.
Feeling tired, he slumped down to a bed, running a hand to his face. He jerked slightly when the bed dipped on his right.
"It's over," he heard Kise say.
"Yeah," Aomine said as the sirens of the police cars and ambulance permeated through the night.
xXx
Murasakibara put his hand on the bowl between him and Kuroko and grabbed a handful of popcorn while lying down on his bed, watching a mystery movie Kuroko picked. He suggested watching one to at least entertain Kuroko. It didn't take a genius to know Kuroko was distracted and wondering where everyone was and how they were doing. And since Murasakibara was Kuroko's appointed guard, it was up to him to alleviate Kuroko's concern.
Murasakibara blinked when he turned to the TV hanged on the wall and saw the credits of the film rolling. He didn't even notice that the movie was over and glanced at Kuroko, who looked close to sleep. If Kuroko slept in his room, Akashi wouldn't mind, right? But just to be on the safe side…
Murasakibara gently shook Kuroko awake. "Kuro-chin, if you want to sleep I can walk you to your room."
Kuroko blinked drowsily before rubbing his eyes and covered his yawn with his hand. "I can't sleep yet Murasakibara-kun," he mumbled. "Not until they get back."
"You know Aka-chin, and maybe even everyone, wouldn't like it if you stayed up late waiting for them," Murasakibara said, ruffling Kuroko's hair. "You should go to sleep, Kuro-chin. You'll see them tomorrow morning anyway."
Kuroko curled up his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "But what if they came back hurt while I'm sleeping in my room? I won't forgive myself if that were to happen."
"Mido-chin promised you that they will be careful, didn't he? So relax Kuro-chin, worrying won't help anyone."
Kuroko nodded as he buried his face on top of his knees. "Is it…is it okay if I stay here with you, Murasakibara-kun?" he murmured. "I don't think I can sleep by myself."
Murasakibara only thought of it for a second before nodding. "Sure Kuro-chin," he agreed and stood up, taking the bowl of popcorn. "I'll take this to the kitchen while you get ready for bed Kuro-chin."
After washing the bowl, Murasakibara climbed up the stairs and into his room and saw Kuroko already on the bed but from sound of his heartbeat, he knew Kuroko was still awake. He left Kuroko to his own thoughts and went to the bathroom for his nightly routine. Once done, Murasakibara moved to his bed and lay down beside Kuroko after turning the lights off.
Kuroko rolled over until he was facing him and Murasakibara could see the questions running in those sky blue eyes. "Stop thinking Kuro-chin," he said. "You won't be able to sleep if you keep doing that. They'll be fine."
"Does this always happen?" Kuroko quietly asked as if deference to the darkness, "Everyone going off doing something dangerous?"
"No," answered Murasakibara. "It's been years, decades actually since we fought off another coven."
"Is it because of me?"
Murasakibara was silent, then as if a force compelling him, he wrapped his arm around Kuroko and pulled him closer to his body, Kuroko's head tucked close under his chin. Kuroko nestled comfortably against him, sighing contentedly. "It's not your fault Kuro-chin. You're also victim as much as us. And your family got forcibly dragged into this. This isn't the first time this happened nor will it be the last. Believe in us, Kuro-chin. Believe that we can overcome any obstacles thrown in our way."
Kuroko didn't respond but he was settling in and Murasakibara knew sleep was pulling Kuroko in. "Thank you Murasakibara-kun for staying with me," Kuroko dozily muttered.
"You're welcome Kuro-chin," replied Murasakibara as he listened to Kuroko's soft breathing and steady heartbeat, lulling him to sleep.
xXx
This wasn't what Akashi expected when he trailed after his mark all the way to Shizuoka prefecture.
He pulled out his stake from the vampire's chest and without glancing at its crackling corpse to ashes, he gazed down at the katana the vampire dropped and picked it up. He silently walked forward surveying his surroundings, the hallway was eerily quiet but he could feel vampires' presences all over the building. They must have figured out that the building—their hideout was breached.
Akashi veered to the right and leaned against a wall, peering at the edge and saw the majority of the vampires waiting for him. It seemed they were able to track his movements once he entered their base and judging by their bloodlust and the tense anticipation in the air, they were aware of his identity.
Akashi closed his eyes. Guess he had no choice but to silence them.
Taking it out of his coat pocket, Akashi took a couple of deep breaths and pulled the pin of the smoke bomb, quickly throwing it to the vampires. He ignored the screams and shouts of "smoke bomb" and pulled the sword out of its scabbard, closing his eyes and in a flash; he pressed on, continuously slashing the vampires close enough to meet its blade.
Like a careful dance, Akashi continued slicing and cutting vampires he could sense, decapitating here and there, leaving showering crimson blood on his wake. Once the smoke was gone, he opened his eyes and carefully gauged the bloody scene and not detecting any more vampires, he swished his sword to shake off the blood before sheathing it back.
Resuming his way, he walked onward, his footsteps echoed cacophonously against the floor. No sense in keeping quiet anymore and awaited anyone coming his way. Moving his body slightly to the right, he evaded a fired bullet and stared at the vampire who had the guts to fire at him point blank. Either the other was arrogant or too stupid to face him head on but he didn't care.
At once, Akashi was in front of the vampire and knocked him back with the scabbard sword and without even giving any chance for the vampire to take a breath; he swung his sword to his neck. He blinked when the vampire haughtily smirked as the chains of the nunchaku blocked his sword.
Akashi jumped back and stared evenly at the vampire, who slowly got up and watched him warily. He threw the scabbard in his left hand away and held the sword with both hands. His eyes narrowed when the vampire opened his mouth.
"I'm going to kill you and go up in the ranks," the vampire declared with false bravado. "Or even be known throughout the world as the slayer of the Red Emperor."
Akashi didn't comment. He had no time for small talks especially to one as preposterous as that.
Running at full speed, he brought his sword down only to be stopped again by the nunchak and they fought off each other, the clanging of metal against metal rang on the hallway but it was only a matter of time before he won. The vampire grinned when his sword's blade gave a crack but he paid no mind to it as he thrust it forward.
The vampire gave a low laugh when his sword was broke into half by the nunchak. Unfazed, Akashi took the spinning pointed half mid-air with his right hand and stabbed the vampire squarely on the chest with it while he threw the other half of the sword to his left, killing another vampire sneakily pointing a gun at him.
Straightening up, Akashi saw a double door just up ahead and moved his feet there after taking his stake out. He cautiously turned the doorknob and promptly opened the door. Without delay, he ducked down as he heard a bullet whizzed by and instantly advanced to a vampire kicking him hard, knocking chairs as he flew back. He followed the fallen vampire and easily dodged the bullets firing at him and jumped behind the vampire, quickly stabbing him on the heart.
Akashi sidestepped as a knife embedded on the wall beside him and threw his stake forward, spearing the vampire in front of him straight on the chest. He quickly crouched down and grabbed the arm, trying to stake him from behind and flip the vampire over his shoulder, shattering the wooden table into tatters. He twisted the vampire's arm and before he could cry out, Akashi pulled an extra knife on him and buried it to the vampire's chest.
Not even watching the vampire turning to dust, Akashi spun around swiping his foot, catching another vampire behind him unaware and off balance. Fast as a blur, Akashi grabbed the vampire's throat and slammed him hard on the wall, his left eye turning to gold.
"Who sent you?" Akashi demanded, the biting tone in his voice made the vampire whimper in fear.
Even frightened, the vampire dared to smirk at him. "W-Won't…t-tell…"
Akashi's hold the vampire's throat tightened, squeezing it a little but not enough to kill. He ignored the strangled scream the vampire pathetically let out. "This is the last time I'll repeat myself," he gritted out. "Who sent you."
The vampire tried to claw at his hand on his throat but Akashi paid no mind to the nails digging on his wrist and sensing this, the vampire gave up fighting. "…Fuck…off…" the vampire falteringly uttered.
Patience thinning, Akashi brutally knocked the vampire's head on the wall. "Tell. Me."
"Argh!" the vampire garbled, losing consciousness. "…ght…n…he…der…eb…"
Akashi clenched his teeth at the vampire's words, they may be mangled but he could put the pieces together knowing what it meant. Irately, he crushed the vampire's throat and severely broke it off its body, uncaring of the blood splattering onto him.
Taking off his black leather glove from his right hand, Akashi took out his phone and called his clean-up crew. After giving them the location and instructions, he immediately dialed Midorima's number. He knew his right hand man must be insane with worry since their communication was abruptly cut off. He had no choice but to break his ear comm or else he might have been heard. It was all for naught though as they sensed his presence.
"Akashi! Are you okay? What happened?"
"Calm down Shintarou. Nothing I can't handle. It seems our enemies had a base here in Shizuoka."
"Had? Akashi, don't tell me…You've killed all of them?"
"It's either them or me. They seem to enjoy trying to kill me and wanted to get a promotion for getting me or so I've heard. Anyway, it's a good thing I did and at least our enemy's force dwindled."
"You know who they are, don't you?"
Akashi's grip on his phone tensed. "I do. The one I interrogated didn't say it outright but he did say a very blatant hint. How are things with Daiki and Ryouta?"
"The mission was a success. Aomine dispatched all the vampires, and the humans including the director were all accounted for. I've already notified our contact in the police force and they're on their way here. According to Aomine, the humans don't know about the vampires so we don't have to worry about that. I'll try to keep the media out of this case so the children and workers won't get any scrutiny."
"They didn't face any trouble?"
"Not that I've heard. Although Kise was almost exposed by one of the kids but he seemed to sort it out so I guess it went fine."
"And Tetsuya?"
"I didn't hear anything from Murasakibara so I guess nothing went wrong with Kuroko."
"That's good news. So everything went well."
"Yeah, it did. Akashi, are you coming home tonight? It's a four hour drive."
"I'm staying here but I'll be back by mid-morning. I need to meet up with the clean-up crew and after that, I have to call someone."
"I see. I'll tell Kise, Aomine and Murasakibara. But just in case Kuroko is still awake and asked for you, what will I tell him?"
"Just say I'm working on a business in Shizuoka and I'll be back tomorrow."
"Alright, I'll take care of everything here. See you tomorrow Akashi."
"Later, Shintarou," Akashi hanged up and then sighed as he observed the ruined conference room with the ashes from the vampires' corpses littering around, the tables and chairs all broken and overturned, the windows and walls splashed with an obscene amount of the dark red blood, its tangy scent overflowing the room.
At the corner of his eye, Akashi saw a faint glow and walking over to it, found out it was a laptop still working. He crouched down and ignored the tiny cracks of the screen, perusing its content. His eyes narrowed when he came across certain information.
Akashi ran a hand through his hair in frustration, calming himself down and clenched his fists tightly or else he might lash out in anger. Their mission might be a success but their enemy gained something as well.
A very important one.
They might even thought of this loss as nothing but collateral damage.
Akashi crashed the laptop with his bare hands and strode out of the room, paying no heed to the ashes of vampires he killed or the blood plastered all over the hallway and blood trails he left as he walked out of the building through the fire exit. As soon as he was out, he breathed in the chilly air and a put a lid on his ire, getting pissed off wouldn't help him.
All Akashi could do right now was to be prepared but it didn't mean he would just sit around waiting for his enemies to make the first move. He would make them wish they didn't cross him and taste death and defeat.
And if they tried to do something to catch his wrath…
Then, Akashi would have no qualms in destroying their entire existence.
xXx
Watching the fading crescent moon from the window, making way for the fiery orange-yellow rising sun, a man swirled his wine glass, its red content slowly swirled before bringing it to his lips, drowning the thick, heady taste of blood. "News," he spoke, discerning his subordinate's presence in his room.
"The orphanage project was destroyed at midnight."
The man waved his hand dismissively. "It's no loss. It was a meaningless project anyway. Anything else?"
"We lost communication to our base in Shizuoka."
"Hmm…any guesses?"
"No traces of evidence were left in the scene and the clean-up was precisely done. It's likely the Red Emperor or one of his coven."
"The Red Emperor, huh?"
"We found something as well." The subordinate handed the man a thin folder.
The man opened it, reading the information on them. "And this is connected to him?"
"Yes, we're sure. All connections were proficiently hidden away."
"Then, you know what to do."
"Yes, sir," the subordinate bowed to the man and silently left the room.
The man carelessly threw the opened folder on a table as he stood up and moved to the large window, showing the vast dawning sky, the combined dimmed light of the moon and daylight sun were enough to illuminate the words printed upmost on the paper from the folder.
Kuroko Tetsuya.
Q&A CORNER!
Q1: I wonder what is Kuroko's connection all these events? Will those kids play an important role because I really hope not since I kinda dislike children especially brats, sorry!/Who are those children? And what does the orphanage have to do with anything? Is Kuroko adopted? But then again the orphanage was normal until the new boss came right? He just came recently so there should have been no problems before right? Kuroko was experimented on or adopted are my guesses./I'm just a bit confused or rather curious on how the orphanage is related to Kuroko. Will the 2 children play any other role in latter chapters? (AK47reloaded/KurokoTetsuya101/X)
A: The kids/orphanage and their roles are only on Arc I. They don't have any connection to Kuroko. The orphanage plays a part because of its connection to the attack on Kuroko's parents. You could say the orphanage is a means to an end. The mastermind behind this is the villains for Arc II. Akashi decided to help the kids because Kise requested it (and he's not heartless enough to leave those kids alone). And once he found out Kuroko's mother volunteers in the orphanage that cemented his decision. I'm sorry if it was confusing! (Does that mean I fail as an author because I can't get it right? Ugh, ignore me...)
Q2: Jesus, it feels like EVERYTHING is just going to happen in Arc II. If all that crazy stuff is going to happen in Arc II, what's left for Arc 1? And when's Arc I going to end? (miki565)
A: Not everything... And Arc I is kinda like an introduction to this crazy story, that's why Kuroko hasn't have an active role here yet. Technically, chap 10 is the end for Arc I. The next chapter is just tying up loose ends. And then some breather chapters before the craziness that is Arc II begin.
Q3: I been thinking, but like doesn't Kuroko kinda have Stockholm syndrome? (I mean maybe not but if you think about it, he kinda does,,,, XD) (Silvinukas)
A: Omg, Silvinukas, we're definitely having the same thoughts (^_~)! The answer to that is on Chapter 12. Wait for it!
Q4: From scale 1 to 10, how much Akashi loved his previous lover? Oh, and was it male? Or female? (Alyce Ochoa)
A: Since I've been using him/he, it's a male. Hmm... I don't think what Akashi felt for him is really love, it's more like an obsession and not the healthy kind (is there even a healthy kind?). But in a way that person was important to Akashi, he unknowingly change Akashi's way of thinking.
Q5: And, though it's kinda late to ask now, the vampires in this fic, do they have special abilities? Like, well Edward Cullen can read other's mind, or something like that. (Alyce Ochoa)
A: I'm not being subtle so I think everyone figured it out. But yes, powerful (or special and talented) vampires have powers. There are only a few of them that have one. Normal vampires don't have any. But, sorry, no mind reading, shield (this is Bella's powers, right? I totally forgot), clairvoyance and such.
Q6: And the vampires here, can they feed on each other's blood? Wait, they still have blood in their system, right? Or not? Because the vampires in Twilight doesn't have blood flowing in their body. (Alyce Ochoa)
A: Yes, vampires here can drink other vampire's blood. Some vampires even only drink vampire's blood (aka the snobs and elitists because they have this notion that vampire are superior). It's a different flavor from human blood. And yes, they still have blood in their system, that's why they're still warm unlike vamps in Twilight. (And wow, you're a serious Twilight fan, aren't you? It's been 5 year since I've last re-read it.)
Q7: Why not become a real writer? :) (Alyce Ochoa)
A: This question is quite popular along with 'Am I writer in real life?'. Um, I never really aspire to be a writer though that would be pretty cool. I think my writing prowess is still lacking so I never tried entertaining those thoughts before. But we'll see, maybe in the future...
Q8: Can I ask if Kuroko's role/part in whatever they are doing/up to is gonna be important? A bait? Informationist? Helper? Somewhat like a hidden thing? I can't explain it that much... (VioletFan123)
A: Just like I said before Kuroko doesn't have an active role in Arc I. If it doesn't make sense in Chap 9, I hope it clears you up in Chap 10. You could say Arc I is just me dabbling into action stuff before I go to Arc II.
Q9: How many characters from KnB will you use? As main characters? Major supporting characters? Some characters that will just appear in the story? (VioletFan123)
A: Most of them are shown. Kagami is going to be one of the main characters along with Kuroko+GOM. Seirin, Kaijou, Shuutoku, Touou, Yosen, Rakuzan are the supporting characters. Nijimura-senpai, Haizaki, Kirisaki Daiichi, Alex and even the coaches+Kagetora-san will be included in the story as well (and please don't ask me for their roles, I can't reveal it yet) and some teams will be mentioned, too. I think the Seirin trio (Furihata, etc.) are the only characters that are shown once (Chapter 1). Oh, and Akashi's parents, too in that special chapter of Akashi's past (Thanks to Jump Festa 2015 for their names!).
Q10: How canon (if you WILL make it relate a bit to the actual KnB plot ') will the story be? (and, yet again, my words are indifferent in speech XD) (VioletFan123)
A: Sorry, I can't really understand the question much. Um, this fic is not remotely close to canon considering they're vampires and not basketball players. This story is in a vampire alternate universe (AU). Is this the answer you were looking for? Because if it isn't, I'm so sorry...
Q11: Kuro-kun, that silver scissors is 100% made from that shiny white precious metal. Looks cool on Akashi for me since it kind of -off- if there is no scissors apear in the story. Its main purpose is to come flying towards the idiot who irritate the emperor, courtesy of Akashi. So that scissors is sharp and hard to ruin. Will you accept it, Akashi? (Knight Yuuki)
A: Sorry, sorry it's not Kuroko or Akashi answering. I think I've already answered this before but Akashi won't be using scissors as a weapon. (And sorry, I only have an account on tumblr. I'm not that social even on the internet orz)
Q12: If I'm not mistaken, Aomine said that he kind of know Kuroko but he was unsure about this. It was in the earlier chapter. What was that mean? Is it like he ever knew him from the past or what? (Kujo Kasuza)
A: No, Aomine doesn't know Kuroko. He just reminds him of someone. (Please don't ask me who, I can't answer that.)
Q13: I know it's the most question you must got but who is Akashi's past lover? Will he/she be introduced in the future chapters? And will he/she make a huge impact for Akashi and Kuroko relationship aside from Akashi became a complete different people from the past? (Kujo Kasuza)
A: I can't say who yet. There will be a flashback chapter about him and Akashi after Arc II. As for the impact, yes he will make an impact on Kuroko, that's on Arc IV.
Q14: How does Kuroko get that special blood of his if his parents weren't involved in his blood? If I'm not mistaken Kuroko wasn't "someone's" reincarnation from previous Q&A. (Kujo Kasuza)
A: Kuroko's blood is special genetically. So Kuroko's mother's blood is kind of special, too but Kuroko's is more prominent. His mother's bloodline is a special kind of bloodline because of their ancestors.
Q15: Will Kuroko meet Daisuke and Emi? Well, Kuroko is good with children so I think maybe they can meet each other and poof.. look like a real family (?) Tee hee (Kujo Kasuza)
A: No, Kuroko won't meet them. They're only important for Arc I but after it, we will never see them again. And as much as they were grateful for Kise and Aomine's help, they deserve a safe fresh start and they won't get it if they get mixed up with the coven and Kuroko.
Q16: I was wondering if there's going to be any KagaKuro moments later when Kagami comes into the story? (I'm a huge fan of both AkaKuro and KagaKuro :D) (Kiki2000)
A: Yes, there will be. Kagami is going to be one of the most important people for Kuroko.
Q17: Which arc do you think will be the most interesting? (Which one should I be especially excited for XD) (Kiki2000)
A: Well, the arc that I'm pretty excited to write is Arc VIII, the last one. So many things happening in there, so many feels.../cries I can't talk about it, it hurts too much! But Arc V and VII are interesting for me, too.
Q18: If you [Akashi] could describe Kuroko with one sentence, what would it be? (By the way, happy birthday Akashi! Sorry I'm a bit late :P) (Kiki2000)
Akashi: A sentence? No mere words or sentence can describe the fathomless that is Tetsuya. But if you insist, 'Tetsuya is a phantom' might be the most accurate description I could give him. And thank you though I never celebrate my birthday. [pauses and falls silent for a moment] I don't have any good memories of it.
Q19: Does Kuroko know about his mom's visits to the orphanage. And if he did, did he ever visit along with her and knew something was wrong with the new director? (Lovex2)
A: Kuroko knows his mom volunteers in an orphanage. And he went there with her once before the new director was appointed. He was curious when she stopped visiting but didn't ask since he knew she has her reasons so, in short, he doesn't know.
Q20: I notice that Daiki and Shintaro mention the gender of Seijuro's ex. Is it Mayuzumi, Nijimura or Furihata or maybe some other knb or oc character?! (miko-tan)
A: Akashi's ex is a secret for now. But I can say that it's not Furihata (he's only shown once in Chapter 1 and Akashi's former relationship happened a long time ago as in decades ago so it's obviously not him) and not an OC. He's a KnB character.
Q21: Are they [Emi & Daisuke] going to find out that Aomine, Kise and the others are all vampires? And if they do find out, will Kuroko be a vampire at the time? (sunshine888444)
A: As you can see from this chapter, Daisuke almost find out about Kise but chose to keep quiet about it. He doesn't know that Kise's a vampire per se but he knows Kise and Aomine aren't normal. Emi is oblivious to everything.
Q22: Here is a question: those nightmares are they some kind of lost memories (it doesn't matter if they are Kuroko's or not)? Or are they just something senseless (although I doubt it)? (idiot-kun)
A: Lost memories, not Kuroko's but still memories. Most of them are bad though some are not.
Q23: When Midorima told Akashi that he hoped hen oil don't make the wrong decision, I half expected Akashi to say something like, "I am never wrong. Since I always win, I'm always right." (VanillaMilkshake18)
A: I did plan for Akashi to say it but at that time, it doesn't sound right so I didn't include it. Besides, his words of "Tetsuya is different" make much more sense later on. (As for the Mayuzumi question, even if I did pm the reviewers, I will still get that question. Heck, I already said I'm not confirming who it was but I still get them. So I decided to publish the Q so I won't get them anymore to no avail apparently.)
Q24: What kind of special powers would they have in replacement for their GoM abilities? Or do they even have those powers? I mean, it's ridiculous to think that a vampire's ability would be to shoot from long distance, have a jumping ability and such. (Don't remember Aomine and Murasakibara-tan's abilities, Kise and Sei-kun's abilities would be half useful, Kuroko's would be effective.) I would most likely give them a power similar to the basketball playing specialty so I was wondering if you were even planning on GIVING them said abilities...? (VanillaMilkshake18)
A: They will still have those abilities or resembling close to it. Not including those other abilities I've added.
1. Akashi: Akashi's emperor eye will still stay the same. He can predict his enemies movements (precisely why he's unbeatable). There's also ankle break that freezes them for a few seconds, making them wide open. Akashi uses this chance to kill/incapacitate them. And he's perfect in everything which means his vampire senses are more extraordinary than normal. (As for Oreshi's skill of perfect passes, I have some ideas but nothing concrete yet so I don't know if I'll include it or not.)
2. Midorima: Midorima's long range shot is still there since his eyes are special like he can see from a distance (kinda like Morgiana from Magi/Shin-Ah from Akatsuki no Yona, if anyone knows it). In short, he's the coven's marksman. He's shooting range is widely vast and can accurately shot a fast moving vampire/s without any difficulty. So his weapons vary to guns, rifles, arrows, crossbows and the like. He's the lone long range fighter in the coven since all of them prefer close combat. Plus, he helps Akashi in strategizing.
3. Murasakibara: Murasakibara is good at defense. Nothing or anyone can get past him. He's mostly on the defense because he's too lazy to move. Also, because he's too rough and violent to his enemies. But if Akashi orders him to be on the offensive, he'll do it.
4. Aomine: Aside from Akashi, Aomine is the strongest vampire (some say he's the 2nd most powerful vampire in existence with Akashi being the 1st). His vampire senses are heightened to an extreme degree that it's even likely more superior than Akashi. He's faster than any vampire, his sense of hearing, smell and sight are superb. His formless style is there, too and by that I mean, Aomine doesn't follow any type of fighting (like anything goes, one moment he uses martial arts the next brawling fighting) and most of the time relies on his instincts.
5. Kise: Kise's copying skills are present but there's no perfect copy however. So when he sees someone's fighting style, he copies them and executes it with more power and finesse. He can copy the GOM's abilities, too to an extent but not that great. Like with Midorima, Kise can shoot at a far distance but sometimes his accuracy aren't great. Or Akashi's ankle break though he can't use it a lot since it's too taxing for him. The only vampire he can't copy is Aomine (and in the future, Kuroko) since it's too unpredictable.
6. Kuroko: Kuroko's misdirection is intact (Aomine jokingly dubbed him as a vampire ninja 'cos of it). He's probably the only (future) vampire that has a really weak stamina as in he can fight but for only a limited amount of time. His role is still the same, the support type of fighter.
7. Kagami: Like in the anime, you could say Kagami has a lot of potential. His jumping ability is still there as in he can jump high like flying airplane high (kinda like Jae-Ha from Akatsuki no Yona). Adding his abnormal vampire senses (but still incomparable to Aomine), he can go to one place from another in a short amount of time almost like teleportation but not quite. Due to this, he can stay in the air for a few minutes (air walking?). I'm not sure of this yet. Kagami-kun is hard.
Q25: Will the nightmares deepen Kuroko's and Akashi's relationship at least a little? (Guest)
A: Yes, dreams will play a part in making them closer. (As for your 2nd question, I think chap 10 answers that.)
Q26: Does that [Kuroko's nightmares] have to do with Kuroko's powers or something? Or his blood? (Purified Sins)
A: Both, actually.
I'm getting repeated questions if Mayuzumi (and some others) was Akashi's past lover. I'm not saying yes or no and will keep mum about it (C'mon people, let me leave at least some mystery to the story). Please do read the previous Q&A's about it (there's a reason why I included this corner, you know). I won't answer this question again and will ignore it if I get it. Sorry but please do understand.
A/N: Next chapter will be the last chapter for Arc I and after that; I'm taking a break from DD just for a short while. I need to focus on my other fics, too. They're long overdue.
