Chapter 4

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NINE YEARS LATER

Kuroko sat at the edge of the square table. He picked up the spoon sitting beside the wooden bowl and slowly started scooping up its contents into his mouth. The soup was salty and over cooked, and frankly, bitterly plain - because after all, Riko was the one who had graciously offered to prepare it - but it was still delicious and plenty enough to fill his stomach. He wasn't one to complain about such trivialities - a few years ago there were very few things he wouldn't have been been willing to stoop down to to procure a bowl of soup, similar to the one he was consuming now. He wasn't going to get complacent just because things had been getting better for them.

Kuroko rubbed his eyes tiredly, stifling a yawn that threatened to escape. It was bad table manners, after all. He blinked a couple of times, clearing his foggy vision as he glanced around wearily, drinking in the tranquil sight.

Aomine was a few meters away across the room, sitting by the open wooden window in contented silence and languidly sipping the aromatic coffee in his chipped cup. He was cradling it tightly between both palms, like he was savoring the warmth and heat radiated by the morning drink, and Kuroko found that simple motion adorable. Kagami was sat beside him, focusing intensely on the newspaper he was holding up. His eyes ran back and forth, scanning the pages of printed words. Kuroko thought he looked intelligent like that, all focused, like this it wasn't that far fetch of a notion for him to pass off as a studious scholar-

"Dammit! I cant read this shit!" He slammed the papers on the table, crumpling the edges and breaking the comfortable silence that had settled around the house.

Well, scratch the scholar bit.

"What the fuck is a plethora? Is it a snake? I bet it's a snake." He announced, crossing his arms as he glared at the creased papers laying defeated in front of him.

Naturally, none of them had gone to school - except for Hyuuga, who had received minimal education as he attended middle school for almost two years before he had to drop out. It's not like they didn't want to, per se, hell they'd give up a week - no, a month worth's of food for it. But for obvious reasons, they weren't able to attend school. And going without food for a month wasn't exactly the best way to get there. No matter what angle they looked at the situation, having no educational background was going to be a terrible handicap for them - for anyone, really.

So about a fortnight ago, Kagami being the stubborn little shit he was, decided to prove everyone wrong and declared confidently that he'd be picking up English.

Yeah... It went as well as it sounded.

Of course, everyone had been skeptical at first and half of them believed him to be joking. But they showed their support no matter. In the beginning, Kagami showed surprisingly un-terrible results. He had actually been doing fairly well. Needless to say, everyone had been past appalled. He was able to say a few basic sentences after the short period of a only few days. They pestered him about his secrets and methods but he refused to divulge. It was only after he threatened to hide their clothes when everyone finally relented.

But now, well. Learning a language was naturally tedious and honing it required plenty of practice and usage. It wasn't very surprising for a beginner to feel frustrated after a few unsuccessful attempts.

And even more so for a certain hot tempered person.

Kuroko felt his lips tugging into a smile as he watched his brother vent his anger on the poor newspaper. Things had been going extremely well for the family of seven - well, when they took their circumstances into consideration. When they hit thirteen, all of them went out looking for jobs that would be sufficient to feed them. At first, their entire livelihood had been screwed up after joining the workforce. Everyone had been dead beat and in foul moods all the time that it had been almost practically impossible to communicate with one another without quarrels breaking out. But after a while, once they each started receiving their pension, things began to settle into their places. Slowly but surely, they found that they had enough money in their pockets to fill their stomachs.

Kuroko absentmindedly stretched his hand down as Nigou walked up to him, ruffling up it's fur tenderly. Nigou was their prized possession, one that they picked up on the streets. He had been abandoned, just like them. None of them had been particularly objective to the idea of giving it a home - save for, Kagami, who had poked it with a stick for the entirety of the discussion - and what was the harm of adding another member to their family? Hence and therefore, their little group had an additional member.

Kuroko thought of how Aomine had been the first of the trio to go job hunting. But he was followed soon by Kagami, who had been determined to match up to his qualifications. So naturally, they both got jobs at the same local construction factory. At first they served as page boys, as the work had proved to be too tough and straining for their little bodies. But as they hit fifteen, they were placed in separate departments and started off as official labor workers. It was taxing on them, sure, but the reasonable pay convinced them otherwise.

Riko picked up the job of selling flowers and little hand-made trinkets in the market every morning. She was hard headed and strong willed, insisting on the need to prove that she was able contribute to the family even though everyone had reassured her that there was no need. But the nineteenth century was merciless to women. The discrimination and requirements that weighed down on them had proved to be a challenge for females to find a willing employer. So after many unsuccessful attempts, she took matters into her own hands and forged a job for herself. Even though the little trinkets were sold at an unreasonably cheap price, Riko had put in her heart into every flower she picked, and every keychain she carved, and it was heartwarming for all of them to see her determination. In another time, perhaps she would've been a successful entrepreneur.

Moimoi, however, insisted on staying at home. Did he mention they had rented a small living area? Well, they did. It was cramped and filthy, but it was still better than anything they had before, and it was home. They resided in one of the small connecting houses facing the main road along the Sixth Street - it had been sort of an upgrade for them from the Eight. They moved a few years ago, when they were able to pool in enough cash for rentals. It was tiny, but it was more than sufficient. The air felt fresher and the grass was in fact, much greener on this side. The streets hadn't been loaded with as many thieves and men (or sometimes women) who happened to have an interest in the close inspection of the anatomy of children, and they considered that as a bonus for Riko and Moimoi.

Kiyoshi's leg had gotten better after a few years, although not fully and healthily functional yet, but well enough to pick up a night job too. He took up a mending job at the stables and in the process of all the exciting hours he spent scooping up dung, he managed to pick up a couple of neat horse tricks.

Hyuuga still kept his night job. He would leave at around midnight everyday and would only return home in the early hours of dawn the next.

Because of this, their working schedules had ultimately crashed, and the time they had to spend with each other was left to only Sunday - which was coincidently more or less the only common free day shared between all seven of them. Hence, they took it upon themselves to ensure that their every Sunday was kept free.

Kuroko himself? He took up the spot of being the errand boy of the house, and everyone knew that, no matter how insignificant it seemed, it was the only job that had really connected everything together. They needed someone to run back and forth for them, collecting and delivering items for them and whether for work or personal, he would run them all. Even though doing so wouldn't be able to earn him a penny, he was contented to be of any help. He was referred to to be like a shadow, once. Because the others were always on the first line of work whilst he was always tying the loose ends behind the scenes. He didn't know if, by that, they meant so as an insult, but he certainly didn't take it as one. Shadows were, after all, naturally important, whether they'd like to admit it or not. It let's you know the presence of objects, and the stronger the shadow, the more it enhances the person's glow - and if anything, there was nothing more Kuroko wanted than for his family to shine at work.

Today had been the second day of the week. Riko was out with her Tuesday menu of flowers to sell, and Moimoi decided to tag along. It was like any other day. Kiyoshi had returned a few hours ago and was now out on duty - they had alternate shift days, and coincidentally enough, there were seven days for all seven of them - as it was his turn this time round to collect all their used clothes from the previous day and bring them to the river to scrub them clean. Everyone hated duty day for reasons none other than having to fetch literal puddles of sweat soaked in fabric for a mile.

Hyuuga had also returned, and was now resting in his well deserved peaceful slumber in the top bunk. Kuroko watched as his chest rose and fell heavily, dragging out long breaths each time he exhaled. He looked like he had a tough night. Figures, Kuroko thought. His work had to be by far, the toughest of them all. Working for the government was dangerous, no matter what angle they looked at it and no matter how he tried to convince them otherwise. One mistake and that was it.

Aomine and Kagami were still having their breakfast and as usual, they would head out later together for work.

It wasn't unusual to see teenagers like them already slogging their guts out in the harsh streets. Some companies, if they were lucky, would take pity on their sizes and strengths, and assign them a lesser workload. But those had fallen under the category of just scatters. In fact, there were more than quite a handful of employers around who wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of their age and exploit their naïvety, giving them twice as much workload but with the same amount of pay. Most of them though, just followed the Fair Employment Act and gave kids just as much work as everyone else - because going against the government wasn't exactly the smartest move to make.

Kuroko absorbed the peace and tranquility in the surroundings. It had taken so much to arrive at this stage, and although their mountain wasn't possibly even close to being the highest, the view at the top was still absolutely stunning. Each of them had slogged out their guts and given up buckets of blood and sweat - and they realized now that it hadn't been all for naught as they were finally able to pick the ripened fruits.

They had a proper place they could finally call home, when before it had been in the trash. They now had a dining table and unbroken cutlery and a bunk bed for goodness sake. A goddamned bunk bed. Although they had to take turns considering the plural form it was in, no one had uttered a word of discontentment. It wasn't much, but it was enough. And they were happy.

But of course, like every other universal thing, everything had to come to an end.

Because just as Kuroko had swallowed the final scoop of his soup, a terrifyingly loud blast shook their world.

The plates they had painstakingly gathered over the years started dropping off the shelves one by one, where they once were placed with pride. They smashed onto the ground, shattering into many differently sized pieces and scattering themselves all over the wooden floor. The delicate sound of the broken glass was accompanied by horrible screams that resonated through their ears and left them with a wave of panic and confusion. It was traveling their way, with voices all jumbled up and crashing together it was impossible to single out any one. It was a sickening realization that dawned on Kuroko which picked the pace of his heart up. Because at that moment, the world they had spent so long shaping into what it was had began to crumble.

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Kuroko reacted instantantly, quickly extending his arms to grab ahold of the tumbling china. But just as he was reaching out, another violent tremble knocked both him and the items on the shelves (and even the shelves themselves) off their balance. He raised his forearms defensively as he crouched slightly, in attempts to shield himself from the violent scene around him.

"Shit!" Kagami yelled, as he got up and rushed forward to grab ahold of a falling shelf.

Aomine dropped his mug and jumped up, craning his neck as he looked outside with panic. He placed a single hand on the window handle to balance himself from the shaking ground as they were sprinkled with dust and bits and pieces of wood escaping from the ceiling.

But it wasn't quite over.

Because after a minute or so, a loud booming noise blasted through the air, traveling from wherever the initial first two trembles came from. But that hadn't been as bad as the deafening high pitched sound that followed. Because it had been the only successful factor out of the rest that was powerful enough to make Kuroko's knees buckle against his will, and with nothing supporting his body weight, he crashed down to the floor, screaming. He covered his ears with his palms in a desperate attempt to save his eardrums as he curled up in a foetal position, feeling his throat turn numb and voice, hoarse.

It felt like a thousand - no, it was more by about a billion - massive nails were repeatedly drilling themselves into his brain, as the deafening sound pushed it's way past his consciousness, etching itself into his bones, so much that he was convinced they were possibly even vibrating within his body. His muscles felt limp, and he struggled to keep his palms on his ears (no matter how useless that action proved to be) as he squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his forehead to the ground in what he felt to be nothing short of utter hopelessness and pain. What was going on? He felt like his mind was melting and his eyelids burned with the pressure he squeezed them in, as he was only left with enough effort to cry out in pain.

Kuroko hadn't been aware that tears had emerged from his little fit. He realized he had been crying when he felt Kagami shaking him violently by his shoulders. He took in a large breath he felt he was deprived of as he deflated on the floor, suddenly awake and aware again of his surroundings. Apparently the blast had been over in an instant but the effects he felt were defiant and refused to do the same. He clenched his teeth as he blinked the sweat away from his eyes, peering up slowly as he removed his palms from his face. Was it over? Was the pain finally gone?

Kagami was looking at him with a grave and concerned expression that only managed to relax slightly after they met each other's eyes, and Hyuuga was kneeling beside him, eyebrows weighed down by worry.

"Kuroko! Are you okay?" Hyuuga grabbed his cheeks as he tilted his own head to check for injuries. Kuroko felt like his insides were about to combust and his head was throbbing so loudly he thought everyone a mile away would be able to hear it.

"I don't - W-what, what happened?" He decided to ask instead, groaning as he sat up, rubbing the side of his head tiredly.

"You tell us." Aomine let out an audible sigh of relief from a few meters away, where he was lifting a fallen furniture off a terrified and now injured Nigou, who had curled up in his arms the minute he was picked up. "After the blast you started screaming and scared the fucking crap out of us. Then you collapsed on the ground. We tried asking you what was wrong but it was like you weren't able to hear us." He said, looking worried as he ran his hand over the dog's bleeding foot, walking towards him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Hyuuga repeated, holding onto Kuroko's forearm in case it's strength decided to betray him.

"I'm okay, Hyu. Is Nigou all right?" Kuroko cocked his head, pushing his fringe out of his forehead as he questioned. They were drenched in so much sweat it made him wonder how long he was actually out. Kagami looked at him incredulously as he straightened his back. "You're kidding."

Kuroko blinked.

"Are you- You looked like you were literally dying and even now when we're not sure if you're truly okay, you're worried about the dog?"

"Hey. Just because you don't like animals doesn't mean it gives you a free pass not to care about them."

"What are you- I'm not- That's not even- Oh my god." Kagami ran a hand over his face in exasperation as he flopped down onto his butt in defeat.

"You know, you really gave us a scare," Aomine piped in, chuckling at their exchange of words. "For a minute there, you looked like you were about to..." he paused, cutting off his own words with an ominous tone. Even though he hadn't completed his sentence, it was clear that everyone in the room knew how it was going to end.

"I've never seen someone in so much pain."

"I'm sorry. I really don't know what happened. It was like the high pitched sound disabled me. But I think I'm fine now. Really." He added, noting the slight indication of disbelief that crossed their faces. "Sorry. I made you guys worry." He looked down, fiddling with his red palms and feeling slightly ashamed, but yet unable to blame himself for anything because he knew it couldn't have been his fault.

"Nonsense. It's our job to worry, you little shit. We don't know what happened either, hell I'm not even sure if I do want to, but we're just glad you're fine." Aomine sighed, smiling as he ruffled his brother's hair, but he paused suddenly, frowning. "Wait. High pitched sound? There wasn't any high pitched sound."

Kuroko felt his eyes growing wide. Wasn't any high pitched sound? Then what was all that? "Wha- There was! I could hear it. That's why I was..." He gestured, waving his hand at the floor.

"Kuroko, there wasn't any other sound. Well, except for the three loud blasts, there wasn't anything else." Hyuuga tightened his grip on his arm, his frown growing. "You sure you're all right?"

Was it just him then? He was positive that there had been a high pitched noise because he felt it in literally every bone in his body. But if even Hyuuga insisted that there wasn't, Kuroko began to doubt himself. He settled for a nod, frowning as he tucked in the information for future discussions with his subconsciousness, because he neither had the energy nor brain power left to talk about this issue.

He looked around. And trust when he said this it was by no means an exaggeration, that everything was in pieces - save for a single shelf that stood proudly over the rest of the debris left by the aftermath that their house was covered in. There were broken pieces of glass scattered all over the floor and Kuroko found himself sighing internally as he knew it was going to be a hassle to pick them all up. Pieces of wood had fallen off the ceiling some time during all the chaos and was now lying about, along with loose pieces of paper, decorating the area with splinters and sharp edges. His favourite bowl was crushed under the foot of a fallen table, and he spotted a tumbling radish in the corner of the room. Had he been unconscious for so long that he missed all of... this?

"What... How long was I out?" He whispered, not quite fully taking in the surroundings yet.

"About ten minutes."

He was sure he looked positively appalled as he blinked. Ten minutes? He had been in that state for ten minutes? It hadn't felt like that long. It might have been because he was in too much agony not to notice, but to have felt how he did for ten straight minutes was past unbelievable, even if he was the one to actually experience it firsthand.

Kuroko shook his head, brushing off the scattering thoughts that made it their mission to confuse him further than he already was. "Are you alright, Hyu-san?" He asked, as he noticed how pale his brother was.

Hyuuga opened his mouth and was about to reply when a shrill echoed throughout their house, causing them all to turn sharply as another sinking feeling of dread overwhelmed them. How naïve they were to think their trauma had been over.

It had been so quiet after the final blast that it was almost eery. Of course, they should've expected more to follow. Because right till around then, the only sounds they could hear were the distant screaming, which led them to the unspoken conclusion that the terror had been happening far from them.

Unfortunately, that didn't really seem to be the case at all.

Aomine jerked up, but not before carefully setting Nigou down, and ran forward to yank open their wooden door, dashing out and forcefully grabbing ahold of a random person running past him. "Hey! What's going on?" He demanded at the fearful stranger.

"I- I don't -" he stuttered, eyes flickering everywhere but at the intimidating man, as he not so subtly tried to wrestle his arm free of Aomine's lion grip to resume his dash to god knows where.

"Hey hey hey, calm down." Aomine said, lowering his voice as he attempted to put the man's nerves back into their places, before roughly shaking the guy by the shoulders. This guy was truly a natural at this. "You calm?" The guy nodded. But whether he was actually so or agreed only because the man standing in front of him looked like he could pick him up by a strand of hair and toss him to the other side of earth, Kuroko wasn't sure.

"They're - the- they're attacking," he gestures frantically toward the direction he, and now many others, came running from.

"Attacking? What- Who's attacking?" Aomine stammered, now looking genuinely worried as his eyebrows creased together.

"I don't - They're coming from the market." The man panted, as his gaze finally decided to rest on Aomine. Their eyes widened as they turned to look at each other.

"The market?" His voice came out as a squeak.

"Boy, just take my advice. Run."

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A/N :

Oh my god, v v v sorry for the late update! But enjoy this relatively long chapter! Oh, and thank you to everyone who gave a review to my story so far, I read them all and I really appreciate you taking your time to write one! I hope you guys like where the story is going so far because it's turning out somewhat like planned :^)

Don't forget to leave your reviews and opinions of the story! (Constructive) criticisms and suggestions are all welcomed!