Disclaimer: I don't own Junjou Romantica.

Please read Author's Note below. Thank you!

Beta: wasabi cake

Chapter 2 The Sleeping Beauty

The Akashi Group's principal office is a forty five-floor building standing tall in the middle of Tokyo. The floor-to-ceiling windows were covered with one-way glass panes, making the exterior look like it mirrors the busy street and dusty sky of the city. The walls of the interior were painted a rich red, the signature color of the Akashi group, while the floors were lined with black carpets. The top floor was occupied by its CEO Akashi Seijuro.

Two men walked through the hallway leading to the office of the CEO. One was scowling while the other was beaming brightly.

"Shin-chan, why do you have to be in such a bad mood so early in the morning?" Takao Kazunari, assistant to the CFO, commented. The CFO did not answer. Instead, he pushed his eyeglasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Shin-chan, it's difficult to find information when it's hidden so well. I'm sure Akashi-san will understand."

Midorima glared at his assistant. "I'm not worried with what he has to say. I'm more worried about Kuroko. I'm not exactly comfortable with Akashi's game."

"You have such a big heart, Shin-chan! You remind me of a knight in shining armor." Takao teased as he opened the door to the CEO's office. The two walked past the table of the Executive Assistant and went straight to the double glass door which leads to Akashi's actual office.

Takao held the door open for Midorima. Before the CFO entered the larger room, he paid a side glance to the empty table. He knew exactly where the assistant was.

"Shin-chan, come on." Takao gestured for him to go in.

Akashi's office was bright as always. All the blinds that should have covered the floor-to-ceiling windows were open, letting the light in freely. He found Akashi standing just near his mahogany desk, looking over the city. Despite the CEO's small stature, he always held an air of superiority. He looked like a king looking over his kingdom. It reminded him once again of why he decided to follow Akashi.

"You should've stayed in the hospital to rest."

Akashi turned, regarding Midorima and Takao's presence. A small plaster was visible on the left side of his jaw, the only visible sign of yesterday's accident.

"The company will not stop operating in your short absence. A day of rest would have been good for you."

"Sometimes, Shintarou, you speak like my mother," he spoke as he sat down on his swivel chair. He rested his elbows on the chair's arm, his hands clasped in front of him. Midorima took the seat in front of the desk while Takao remained standing. "I suppose you have information for me."

"Takao," he called, signaling his secretary to hand the envelope to their boss.

"Kuroko Tetsuya, 18 years old," Takao started. "He became an orphan when he was 8 years old and stayed at an orphanage for about a year until your father took him in as an academic scholar. He studied at Teiko – "

Akashi raised his brow at the mention of his middle school.

" – until middle school then transferred to Seirin in high school. It was then that he started to work as your father's messenger. Just last month, he started working as your houseboy. He comes to your house every afternoon to clean then leaves at exactly – "

Takao was interrupted by a buzz from the phone on top of Akashi's table. Akashi gestured for him to continue.

"No records exist about his life before he came to the orphanage, not even a record of his mother and father or how he became an orphan."

Akashi looked amused. "It seems like he's far more important to my father than what I had initially thought."

"What exactly are you planning, Akashi?"

Before Akashi could answer, the phone buzzed again, catching the attention of the three. Midorima raised his brow. "Why don't you answer your phone first?"

The CEO smiled. "It's not mine," was his short answer. He took the phone nonetheless and clicked the call button. A very, very familiar voice came through the other end of the line. It was laced with worry.

"Tetsuya, I've been trying to call you since yesterday. Why weren't you answering?"

Akashi chuckled, "Otou-san, I didn't think you could be this sweet." He heard the hitch on his father's breath.

"Seijuro," the voice became low and cold. "What are you doing with Tetsuya's phone?"

Yanaka district was a low-key commercial and residential neighborhood. As compared to the busier part of Tokyo, one would think that the district was misplaced for its old downtown atmosphere - in one of its residential area stood a white apartment building. The place was inconspicuous, much like most of its occupants. So, seeing a yellow Corvette ZR1 parked in front of the said building caught pretty much the whole neighborhood's attention; more so when two handsome young adults alighted the vehicle.

One of them was the chief of the marketing department of the Akashi Group and model of the Golden Sunrise Corporation, a subsidiary of the Akashi Group for high-end housing, Kise Ryouta. The other one was the chief operating officer (COO) of the Akashi Group, Aomine Daiki.

"I can't believe I had to use my charms to lure an old woman to give me the key to an apartment." Kise huffed as they walked through the narrow halls of the building. He ran his hand through his blond locks, a habit he developed when he was feeling restless. "I feel like a criminal." His companion only snorted so he continued. "Where's Murasakicchi anyway? Why do we have to play errand boys for Akashicchi today?"

Aomine glared at him in disgust at the nicknames. "Murasakibara's busy moving Kuroko's body to Akashi's villa."

The blond smiled uneasily. "Aominecchi, please don't phrase it like we just murdered somebody. Someone might hear you."

"Tch… whatever. We're here." He stopped as he inspected the sign on the door; it says "2G." It was Kuroko Tetsuya's unit. Kise inserted the keys then turned the knob. He hesitated to open it for a second, dreading to find that someone's inside.

"What the heck, Kise? Just open it."

"But, Aominecchi… I feel like I'm trespassing." He whispered.

"You are trespassing. But, we have no choice. You know Akashi. He won't take it lightly if you disobey him."

Kise gulped to remove the lump in his throat as he pushed-open the door. He sighed in relief when they were greeted with nothing but silence.

It was a relatively small unit. There was just one bedroom, a kitchen, and a living room. The interior, though too simple to Kise's taste, was pretty decent. Thin light blue curtains hang on the window to let a minimal amount of sunlight in. The two sofas in the living room were of cream color, a wooden center table completing the set. Cream was also the dominant color in the kitchen.

He had seen Kuroko Tetsuya in the hospital yesterday when he visited Akashi. Judging from the glimpse he had of the teen, he could say that the apartment suited Kuroko well – simple and homey.

Kise made his way to Kuroko's bedroom, with Aomine in tow. He raised his brow as he entered it. It looked like no one had ever slept on its bed. It was very organized, like it was made for a showroom. The bed was beside a window with the same light blue curtains. There was a study table on the far corner with a bookshelf beside it.

He walked to the bedside table to inspect the picture on it. His eyes widened at what he saw. Akashi's father was in it, with a young Kuroko Tetsuya sitting on his shoulder. A man, who looked like an older version of Tetsuya and who Kise assumes was the younger man's father, was smiling beside him. He pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket and took a picture of it. He was about to send it to Akashi when –

"Who are you?" A tall red head growled from the door, a siberian husky in his arms.

Before Aomine could say anything disastrous, Kise spoke, "Sorry for intruding. We're Kurokocchi's friends." The lie slid smoothly out of his tongue. He purposely gave emphasis to the nickname to make it more believable. "I'm Kise and that's Aominecchi." He pointed with his thumb to the COO beside him.

"Yeah, I saw you on TV several times. The name's Kagami by the way." He let put the dog down and it immediately dashed to Kise. It barked and jump up and down while wagging its tail as if trying to catch the blond's attention. Kise looked down and his honey brown eyes met the dog's sky blue ones. He looked up again when Kagami spoke again.

"Tch… didn't know Kuroko had rich friends. You own the Chevy outside?"

"Yeah I do." Kise paid a side glance to Aomine. He could see him glaring daggers at him. The COO had warned him about bringing a flashy car but he did not listen. Of course he could not leave his house without his precious Corvette.

"What are you doing here? Where's Kuroko?" The redhead eyed them suspiciously.

"Kurokocchi got into an accident yesterday."

"What happened? He okay?" There was a lace of concern on the redhead's voice and Kise wondered briefly what his relationship with Kuroko was. Aomine just watched the whole time, not trusting himself to talk as smoothly as Kise does. He let the blond handle the situation.

"He's okay. Just a sprain while we were - " Kise roamed his eyes around the room quickly and saw a basketball on one of the shelves. He wished the redhead will not notice. "- playing basketball. We just came here to get him some clothes. We insisted that he rest in the hospital for a while."

"Heh, he's still careless." Kagami placed his hands on either side of his waist. "Well, it's too bad I won't be able to visit him. My flight's in a few hours. Tell him my regards. I gotta go now. Take care of Nigou."

"W-what?"

Before Kise could sputter a protest, Kagami was already gone. The dog barked at him then rolled its tongue out. The longer Kise stared, the more he felt guilty; and right then he knew he could not leave the dog alone.

"This way, Sir."

Akashi Nanjiro followed the waiter as he was lead to a small room where his son was waiting. The younger Akashi was sitting casually, a glass of red wine in his hand. Seijuro stood up as a greeting then gestured for him to take the seat across him. The waiter placed a glass in front of him, poured the wine, then quietly left.

"It's been a long time since we sat with each other and talked, Otou-san." He dragged the last word with a smirk on his face. Nanjiro just stared at him, not giving a hint of his emotion. His son was a spitting image of him. They have the same red hair, same aristocratic features. The only difference was that Seijuro's left eye was colored gold.

"Seijuro, where is Tetsuya?"

"Don't worry." Seijuro took a sip of his wine. "He's somewhere safe. I made sure he's taken care of by the best doctors in Tokyo. He saved my life after all."

Nanjiro's worry was made apparent only by the slight widening of his eyes. It did not escape Seijuro, though. It was only a few times when his father would let his raw emotions show. He had seen it once when he was almost hit by a speeding car when he was only seven years old. Another was when a friend of his father died. And, that was when he was sixteen. So, to see his father's reaction to Kuroko, it made him more curious of their relationship.

"What exactly happened to him?"

"Just a simple accident at the site… Though he hasn't woken up yet, the doctor assured that he will soon be waking up." He smirked as he watched his father's hand tightened into a fist.

"Seijuro, whatever game you're playing, leave Tetsuya out of this. He has nothing to do with our little dispute."

"Just how important is he to you, Otou-san? You seem so concerned about him. Is he your illegitimate son?" Nanjiro's eyes narrowed. "No? Perhaps he's your new lover? I didn't think you were into cute, young boys."

There was a few seconds of silence until the older Akashi broke into a soft laughter. "You really are my son, Seijuro. You're planning to use him to make me give up my position as the Chairman. I taught you to do anything to win, this shouldn't have surprised me."

"The game wouldn't be fun if you'll just give up the chairmanship for him, would it, Otou-san? I'm keeping him for a while. I want to know just exactly who he is. I'll have to get going now to arrange some… things for Tetsuya."

Before the younger Akashi could exit the room, his father spoke. "I'm warning you, Seijuro. Don't you dare hurt Tetsuya."

"Don't worry, Otou-san. I'll make sure to treat him well." He smirked as he left the room. As expected, his trusted Executive Assistant was already waiting for him outside.

"Atsushi, take me to Tetsuya."

Akashi's villa was on the east outside of Tokyo, a good 30 minute ride. He acquired the property just a year ago and had kept it a secret from his family. He thought it would be a good place to hide from his family when he needed to unwind. He never thought, though, that he would be using it to hide one Kuroko Tetsuya.

Midorima had reported the day before that the incident in the construction site was no accident. The CFO had deducted that it was an attempt on Akashi's life. But, after learning that Kuroko had a connection with his father, the redhead could not be too sure if he was really the one targeted. So, he decided to hide Kuroko as precautionary measure.

He did not really need Kuroko to use as leverage against his father. He would just be using him to taunt and aggravate the older Akashi.

"Aka-chin, someone's following us." Murasakibara interrupted his thoughts. He just nodded, knowing that his assistant was more than capable to handle it.

Without a warning, the car swerved right, entering a narrow alley. The car barely fitted in it. They exited into a busy street. Nevertheless, Murasakibara was able to maneuver through the crowd easily. A few more turns and they were on a high way outside of Tokyo, their pursuers already out of sight.

"Well done, Atsushi."

"That was too easy, Aka-chin." Murasakibara yawned. "You should tell your father to hire more competent men."

Akashi just stared outside the window and let the rest of the ride be spent in silence. Half an hour later, they were already outside his villa. Murasakibara lead him to the room where Kuroko was.

The room was silent save for the constant beeping of the heart monitor. Kuroko Tetsuya looked smaller as he lay still at the center of the large bed. Various tubes protruded out of his body, an endotracheal tube was attached to his mouth, helping him with respiration. A bandage was wrapped around his head.

"Did you find anything valuable in his bag?"

Murasakibara shrugged. "Nothing in it but an old coloring book of 'Sleeping Beauty.'" He walked to a corner table where he had put the teen's sling bag. He pulled out the said book and showed it to his boss which earned him an incredulous look. "He's quite talented in mixing colors." His words slurred - a sign that he was too sleepy to actually say something sensible.

The CEO just shook his head. "Go rest, Atsushi." His assistant nodded then left the room.

As the door closed, Akashi walked closer the Kuroko's bed and studied the younger man's features. The teen seemed paler than when he saw him yesterday while his lips were chapped and dry. Despite these, though, he still found Kuroko Tetsuya quite attractive. He let his body hover close to the sleeping patient; his hands resting on either side of Kuroko's body, his face an inch close to Kuroko's. He felt like he had seen the teen before but could not quite remember when.

"Just who exactly are you, Tetsuya?" he ran his fingers through soft pale skin that was devoid of warmth. "I want to know…" he was about to close the gap further when his phone chimed, signaling that he received a message.

He raised one of his brows when he received Kises's picture holding a dog close to his face, grinning widely. The caption said "Kurokocchi's puppy." He made a mental note to murder the blond for his foolishness. The next picture, though, made him laugh hard. It was a picture of his father with a young Tetsuya sitting on his shoulders.

Things are getting more interesting.

-end of chapter-

A/N: Hello everyone! First of all, thank you for the reviews and the follows and the favorites! I'm sorry for the late update. I released Chapter 1 at a wrong time. August and September are my busiest month in school. Plus, I got a part-time job. So yeah… but, I'm back on track so I guess I'll be updating twice a month.

This chapter is all about Kuroko and introduction of the GoM. The interior colors of the building was my beta sis' idea. Thanks, sis!

Source for the geo: Wikitravel.

Corvette ZR1 is owned by Chevrolet. I love the car so I'm using it here.

Please review. I'd love to hear from you.