Summary: Sakurai is missing and Aomine is determined to find him. But the only clue he has is a note saying "your ace have got connections" Will he get his teammate back?
Aomine opened the door to the gym at Touou academy, planning on attending practice for a change. He was late, but to him it didn't matter. Momoi stood just next to the door and watched as the team practiced, however, when Aomine entered she turned her head with a surprised expression on her face.
"Dai-chan?" she said in a tone that matched her expression perfectly.
"Why are you so surprised, Satsuki?" Aomine asked as he dumped his back on the floor.
"I was half expecting it to be Sakurai-kun. He hasn't shown up yet," Momoi said, now with a slight hint of worry sneaking into her voice.
"Strange," Aomine said. He clearly remembered that Sakurai had been to school today because a classmate had made the mistake of pointing out a small error on his drawing during a break, which caused him to apologize about it for a full ten minutes.
"Could you see if he's in the locker room?" Momoi asked.
Aomine sighed but did go to the locker room.
The room was empty. There was not a soul in there. Aomine looked around, but it turned out Sakurai had never even been there today. There was no sight of his bag, nor his indoor shoes. Aomine found it strange seeing as Sakurai would never skip practice unless he was absent from school as well.
This was when his attention was drawn to a note that was attached to Sakurai's locker. He took it and read it.
Touou Basketball Team
We have hereby claimed Sakurai Ryou as ours. If you figure out who we are, there's a chance we might hand him back.
Here's a clue, your ace has got connections.
Aomine wondered if this was a joke, or what they called a kidnapping. And if the latter was the case, why would someone kidnap Sakurai of all people?
Well, no matter the reason there were two things that had to be done. He had to inform the others and go by the lead he had got. It was obviously someone he knew and probably one from the Generation of Miracles.
As he grabbed the note and headed back towards the gym he picked out his phone and called Kise's number.
"Aominecchi!" Kise exclaimed as he picked up the phone. Then he started talking about everything and anything, barely giving Aomine any room to talk. He actually spoke for two minutes before Aomine got through to him.
"Oi!" he yelled to make Kise shut up. "Sakurai is missing and I got a hint that I knew someone who might know where he is," he explained quickly.
"Uh… Sakurai… Who was that again?" Kise asked as he tried to remember. "He's on your team right?"
So far so good. Aomine couldn't help but think as he felt his patience with the other slowly crumble. "A little on the short side, shooting guard, apologizes a lot," he tried to help Kise's memory.
"Oh yeah, Sakurai!" Kise seemed to remember now. "He's not here though. Have you asked Kurokocchi?" he advised.
"You were the first I called," Aomine informed him.
"So I was the first you suspected! That's so mean Aominecchi!" Kise whined.
Aomine decided to hang up then, not feeling like dealing with Kise's childishness. He entered the gym and walked up to Momoi as he dialed Kuroko's number.
"Hello," Kuroko answered almost immediately.
"What's this?" Momoi asked as Aomine handed her the note he had found in the locker room.
Aomine didn't answer her. "Tetsu, Sakurai is missing and I was told that someone I know has something to do with it. Kise told me to give you a call,"
"Sakurai-kun? Why would he be here?" Kuroko asked in wonder.
Aomine thought for a second. "You could always use one more shooting guard," he tried. "Is he there or not?" Aomine snapped, getting slightly more impatient.
"He's not," Kuroko said. "Maybe Akashi-kun can give you a clue of who to call?"
"Thanks Tetsu," Aomine said while breathing to calm himself just a tiny bit.
"I hope you find him," Kuroko said before Aomine hung up.
Imayoshi came over to find out what Aomine and Momoi were standing around for. Momoi handed him the note and he quickly looked it over before looking at Aomine.
"Who were you on the phone with?" he asked.
"Tetsu, and before that Kise," Aomine quickly explained before calling Akashi. Both he and Kuroko knew that Akashi couldn't be the one behind the kidnapping, but there was a high possibility that he knew who could be behind it.
"And who are you calling now?" Momoi asked.
"According to Tetsu, Akashi might have a clue of who to call," Aomine answered.
"Yes," Akashi picked just that moment to pick up. "Daiki, what is it?"
"Our shooting guard at Touou Academy has been kidnapped by one of the Generation of Miracles," Aomine said. "I was hoping you could give me a clue of who to call,"
"The one that apologizes?" Akashi was now thinking about the matter. "Ryouta maybe?"
"I already called both him and Tetsu," Aomine informed.
"Does he have other skills than shooting?" Akashi asked almost like a professional detective.
Aomine looked at Momoi like she would know if Sakurai had other skills while giving his own answer. "He can cook… and draw manga, that's all I know,"
"Call Atsushi then," Akashi suggested.
"Okay." Aomine said before Akashi hung up.
Only five minutes later Akashi received another call, now from a much more irritated Aomine than the one he hung up with.
"He's not picking up!" Aomine practically yelled.
"Is that so?" Akashi asked, calmly in contrast. "He must be practicing then. Call and check with Shintarou and if it's a negative, go to Yousen."
Aomine sighed and hung up and then called Midorima's number, praying Sakurai was at Shuutoku.
"What?" Midorima asked irritated.
"Our shooting guard, Sakurai has been kidnapped and I got the clue he was with one of you," Aomine was tired of repeating those same words so many times.
"What would Shuutoku do with an extra shooting guard?" Midorima asked. Aomine had thought the same thing and therefore he hadn't called Midorima until now. The chances of Sakurai being there was so unlikely that Aomine had considered not even calling Midorima.
"I don't know. But it is either you or Murasakibara," Aomine explained."
"I doubt he is here," Midorima said. "I'm on my way to practice."
That was signal for the conversation to end and Aomine sighed before hanging up.
Midorima continued down the hallway and opened the door to the gym. The sight that met him made him stop right in the doorway for a few seconds. Takao stood in front of the rest of the Shuutoku team and smiled when he saw Midorima.
"There you are Shin-chan," the entire team moved and now Midorima could clearly see whom they had gathered around. "This is our new teammate, Sakurai Ryou from Touou Academy," Takao's smile was proud while Midorima was ready to kill… or be killed depending on what Aomine would do once he found out. This was why Midorima found himself forced to stop in the hallway.
"Are you trying to get me killed?" Midorima asked angrily.
Takao looked up at Midorima with a smirk on his face. "What do you mean, Shin-chan?" he asked innocently, like he had done nothing wrong.
"Aomine just called, asking if Sakurai was here and I told him no," Midorima hissed.
Takao grinned. "He caught on quicker than I thought," he said. He seemed surprisingly calm considering what would probably happen to him later.
Midorima found his phone and started texting Aomine. Takao's eyes widened as he saw this.
"What are you doing, Shin-chan?" he asked in a panic.
"Texting Aomine," Midorima answered and send the text.
To: Aomine Daiki
Subject: None
I was wrong. He is here
"Stop!" Takao yelled, but of course it was already way too late to stop the text from being send.
Aomine didn't notice he had got a text from Midorima. He was already on his way to Yousen to speak to Murasakibara. Momoi was with him.
"What do you think they'll need Sakurai-kun for?" Momoi asked.
"I don't know," Aomine answered. "We can ask if he is there," apparently it wasn't worth giving too much thought.
The two were silent the rest of the way to Yousen.
They didn't waste time once arriving at the school. Aomine and Momoi headed for the gym and entered. The Yousen team was still practicing and only the coach came over when the two Touou students entered.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"We wanted to speak to Mukk…. I mean Murasakibara-kun," Momoi quickly corrected herself.
The coach sighed. She didn't see the need for the practice to be disturbed, but seeing as these guys came all the way from Touou Academy it had to be something important so she couldn't deny their request.
She stopped the game to call Murasakibara out and then let the others continue.
"Sacchin, Mine-chin, what is it?" Murasakibara asked irritated as he reached Aomine and Momoi.
"One of our teammates has gone missing and there is a chance he could be here," Aomine explained quickly.
Murasakibara thought it over for a while before shaking his head. "Muro-chin?" he called only loud enough for Himuro to hear. He stopped to look at the three. "Is there someone here we don't know?" Murasakibara asked the other.
"Only the transfer student in my class, but he wasn't from Touou," Himuro answered.
"Thanks," Aomine mumbled.
"Thanks Mukkun," Momoi smiled before she and Aomine left the Yousen gym again as Murasakibara could get back to his game.
Outside Momoi and Aomine stopped to find out what to do next.
"I give up," Aomine said lazily.
"Don't say that, Dai-chan," Momoi exclaimed. "There must be something else we can do, besides our team and Sakurai-kun too is probably counting on us to find him,"
"What could we do?" Aomine asked with an obvious lack of interest in his voice.
Momoi thought for a bit before the idea hit her like lightning from a clear blue sky. Her face lit up. "Do you have Sakurai-kun's number?" She couldn't believe neither of them had thought of that idea until this moment.
Aomine pulled out his phone to check but stopped when he noticed the text from Midorima. He read it quickly.
"He's at Shuutoku," he finally said.
Momoi looked up. "But didn't Midorin say…" she trailed off when Aomine grabbed her wrist and started dragging her along towards Shuutoku high school.
"He did, but he seems to have found him or something," Aomine said.
Midorima glared at Takao with both anger and frustration. Takao on the other hand looked amused. Sakurai looked from one to the other, seeming more worried and nervous than anything else.
"You'll be lucky if we survive this," Midorima said.
Takao just smiled. He seemed pleased with the fact that he had managed to get Midorima in trouble.
"Sumimasen… for causing you so much trouble, Midorima-san," Sakurai mumbled the apology, only loud enough for Midorima to hear, suddenly causing the green-haired boy to feel guilty himself.
"If it's anyone's fault, it's Takao's," Midorima said, trying to ease the feeling of guilt for both of them. It didn't work, seeing as it was just responded by another apology.
The two fell silent while listening to some of the other Shuutoku members playing basketball.
Then the door was slammed open and an angry Aomine entered the Shuutoku gym along with a worried Momoi. Takao hurried up and pulled Sakurai across the court as fast as possible. All the other Shuutoku members except Midorima withdrew out of the gym immediately.
"I though you would be here earlier," Midorima said.
"We were at Yousen when I saw your text," Aomine was irritated again. He had worked up the bad mood all the way from Yousen to Shuutoku.
"Sumimasen," Sakurai apologized, but all of them ignored him.
"Hand Ryou back over," Aomine demanded Midorima.
"I'm not the one behind this," Midorima defended himself.
"Then who is?" Aomine's voice rose to a yell.
"Takao," Midorima answered to which Aomine looked confused at him.
"That's Takao-kun over there," Momoi explained, directing Aomine's attention towards the Shuutoku point guard who was standing with his back against the wall, still with Sakurai.
"Then you hand him over…" Aomine trailed off, already having forgotten Takao's name again.
"Sumimasen, Takao-san," Sakurai said helpfully, but it came out in a way that sounded like it was his fault that Aomine had forgotten.
"Why?" Takao smirked at Aomine.
"You wrote in the note that you'd let him go if we found him," Aomine said.
"I didn't," the other denied. "I only wrote that you might get him back, I fully intent on keeping him now," Takao squeezed Sakurai a bit as to make sure he words were clear.
"May I ask you what for, Takao-kun?" Momoi said.
"What exactly do you mean?" Takao asked, giving himself some time to figure out the right way to answer.
"You already have Midorin as shooting guard and ace so what would Sakurai-kun be doing here?" she asked.
Takao pretended to think some more before giving his answer. "I've heard he should be good at cooking," Takao's smirk grew wider.
Aomine took some time to let the words sink in. "No way," he said, his voice was low and dangerous. "No way anyone but me is gonna eat his food,"
"Aomine-san…" Sakurai felt warm inside, getting the feeling that Aomine actually cared a bit about him.
"He is coming back to Touou with us!" Aomine yelled as a finish on his words.
"Nah, he's much better off staying here, aren't you Sakurai?" Takao turned to ask the slightly shorter.
"Sumimasen, I-" Sakurai's apology was cut off by Aomine.
"NO! Ryou is coming back with us!" Aomine yelled.
"Sumima-" Again the apology was cut off, though this time by Takao.
"He'd rather stay here!"
"We need him more at Touou!" Aomine argued.
"We need him just as much!" Takao stated.
Momoi had gotten more than enough from their argument. "Cut it out!" she demanded, causing both Aomine and Takao to fall silent.
"Sumimasen," Sakurai mumbled.
"Dai-chan, Takao-kun, I think we should let Sakurai-kun decide on where he wants to be," Momoi said democratically while looking at Sakurai.
"I…" Sakurai trailed off but nobody tried to interrupt him. "I… think I would rather be at Touou then," he finally said. "I feel more useful there,"
Takao sighed in defeat. "So much for the fun, and I had already got some papers so you could transfer," Despite the complains he let go of Sakurai's arm, which he had been holding onto since Aomine got there.
Sakurai stepped up in front of Takao and apologized. For who knows what before he headed over to stand behind Aomine and Momoi.
"Are you going to do anything, Aomine?" Midorima asked.
"Nah, been active all afternoon," Aomine said lazily. "I'd rather take a nap,"
Midorima nodded and turned to Takao who, because of Aomine's words, had started to look relieved. "Takao," he said before he walked up to grab the shorter by the collar and drag him out of the gym. Before the door shot, the Touou students could hear the sound of someone being punched and the even clearer sound of Takao's yelp.
"There is one thing I wonder about though," Aomine said while giving Sakurai a thoughtful look. "How did he manage to kidnap you?"
"Sumimasen, I don't remember much," Sakurai admitted. "I think I was grabbed and blindfolded from behind,"
"Let's go back," Aomine sighed.
The three were about to leave when Takao returned to the gym with a black eye. "Sakurai!" he called out to the Touou shooting guard. Sakurai just turned his head as Takao headed over and handed him his phone. "My number is in there, call me whenever you need a ride," a smile appeared on Takao's face. "It will be nice driving someone lighter for a change,"
Midorima, who had also returned to the gym just now, looked up. "What was that, Takao?" he asked in a dangerous voice.
"Nothing!" Takao smiled sheepishly at Midorima, deciding it wasn't worth testing his luck anymore for that day.
"I will remember, thank you, Takao-san," Sakurai said before leaving the gym with Aomine and Momoi. Needless to say that all the way back, Aomine tried to convince Sakurai that it was a better idea to delete Takao's number, if he did it or not, nobody knows.
Some of you may recognize this story. I have had this published once before but decided to delete it for the reason that it had to be part of the Missing - series. This was actually the first of the stories I wrote. I came up with the ideas to the others later on. In addition I might also mention that the original publishing date for this story was on August 31st - Aomine's birthday.
Oh yeah, and if we have to continue the mentions of birthdays from yesterday, I can't remember anyone for today, but a week ago both Takao's seiyuu, Suzuki Tatsuhisa, and one of Takao's teammates, Miyaji Kiyoshi, had their birthday, on November 11th. This is just a fun fact though.
I hope you liked this one too. Don't forget to review, favorite and follow if you feel like it. I appreciate it a lot.
I've got nothing more to say for now. Guess I'll just see you tomorrow.
Jackie