Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke. And, I got the wrong disclaimer the previous chapter. Shame on me.

Please read A/N below.

Beta: wasabi cake. Thank you sis!

Chapter 3 The Foe

Akashi woke up, feeling a little uncomfortable. He looked at the digital clock on his bedside table and found that he had woken up a minute earlier than his alarm. He rolled off of his bed, sauntered to the kitchen, only to find that there was no breakfast ready for him, not even a cup of tea. It was then that he remembered that his maid, who turned out to be a boy, was in a coma.

It had only been three days since the accident, but, a very, very thin layer of dust had already settled on top of the kitchen counter. He took a mental note to find a new housemaid, or to order someone to find him a new housemaid. Deciding to just get breakfast from a drive-through rather than cook himself, he made his way to the bathroom, took a quick bath, and then dressed himself up for the day.

Akashi was greeted by Furihata Kouki, his second secretary, upon arriving at the Akashi Group's main office.

"Akashi-san, Murasakibara-san called in sick today."

Akashi nodded, knowing full well why Murasakibara was taking a leave. He had ordered his executive secretary the previous day to guard Kuroko Tetsuya.

"The officers of Asahi Lands, Inc. are already waiting for you at the conference room."

Furihata filled him in with his schedule for the day as they made their way to the conference room. The secretary fell in tow as they entered the room. Three of his most trusted officers – Midorima, Kise and Aomine –, along with the officers of Asahi Lands, were already in a heated discussion.

As soon as he sat down, the chairman of Asahi Lands slammed his palm on the mahogany table. "This proposal is ridiculous." He threw the folder in front of Akashi. "We only get to keep 20 percent of our shareholdings?! You're practically taking the control of our company from our hands!"

Akashi raised his brow, not liking the older man's temper. "Wakamatsu-san, I suggest you keep your cool."

"Keep my cool?" Wakamatsu laughed dryly. "Keep my cool when you're making a fool out of all of us? If you, brats, think that we'll agree for you to take over our company, then you're wrong."

"Tell me, Wakamatsu-san," he drawled the older man's name slowly. "Do you know how to save a sinking ship?"

"What?!" Wakamatsu's fist was balled, ready to punch anyone near him.

Akashi nodded at Midorima. It was Midorima's permission to speak.

"We know that your company is drowning in debts." Midorima pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "In due time, your creditors will know about this and you will find yourself hounded with lawsuits."

"If you will think about it," Aomine supplied. "We will be the ones prejudiced by taking you in under our wing. With all the trouble we'll be facing just to save your company, you're lucky we're willing to let you retain twenty percent of your shares."

"Wakamatsu-san, we both know that it's impossible to save a sinking ship." Akashi smiled. "It's either you abandon it or you ask for a miracle. These people you call brats can very well perform a miracle."

"Don't be selfish, Wakamatsu-san!" Kise butted in. "Think of the hundreds of employees who would lose their job if your company closes."

Wakamatsu's hands fell to his side in defeat and Akashi knew that the deal was closed.

The rest of Akashi's day was spent with attending meetings and reading various reports. By mid-afternoon, Midorima went by his office to turn in Takao's research of Kuroko's father. "I think that pretty much explains everything." Midorima commented while Akashi peruse over the files, a particular information catching his attention.

"Indeed it does." He smiled.

Just as Midorima left, Akashi's phone rang. He smiled a genuine smile when he saw the name flashing on the screen. He pressed the answer button then greeted warmly…

"Okaa-san."

Upon receiving the call from his mother Akashi Hana, Seijuro immediately canceled all his appointments and drove to the Akashi estate. It had been months since they had seen each other.

"Welcome home, Seijuro-sama."

He nodded at the butler as a greeting. He went straight to the family lounge and ordered the butler to tell his mother that he was home.

As he sat on the velvety sofa, his eyes trailed on the picture frames lined on the corner table. He picked up the one which particularly caught his attention. It was of him and his father when he was seven years old. He was holding a small trout, his very first catch, and beaming widely at the camera while his father was holding him up. It was taken at the time when he was not yet aware of the true situation of their family.

"Seijuro." A familiar voice called out from the door which made him look up.

"Otou-san." He returned the picture frame on its place. "It's too early to get drunk." His brow raised as his site zeroed in on the glass of whisky his father was holding. "Okaa-san's seldom home. Why can't you stay sober while she's here?"

"I'm… celebrating." Akashi Nanjiro drawled. He wrinkled his eyes, making the fine lines more visible. "You know… her coming home." The older Akashi picked up the frame that Seijuro had been previously holding. "You looked adorable in this picture. So… different from the present Seijuro."

Seijuro watched as his father sat on the couch across from where he was sitting.

"I wish we could go back to the good old days." Nanjiro took a sip on his glass of whisky.

The younger Akashi snorted. "You really want to start talking about the past now?" Seijuro did not, so he thought of a better subject, one that he knew would rile his father up. "Let's talk about Kuroko Akito."

Seijuro smiled inwardly as his father stiffened, knuckles almost white as he gripped his glass tightly.

"He embezzled millions from our company. It made me wonder why you took his son in. The son of a thief –" He was effectively cut off when Nanjiro abruptly stood up. The glass of whisky fell from his hand and made a soft thump on the carpet.

"Don't you dare talk about Akito like you know everything." Nanjiro's voice was low and threatening. However, this did not faze Seijuro the least. In fact, his father's reaction amused him that he let out a low chuckle.

He stood up then picked the glass. He set it slowly on the center table before facing his father. "What else don't I know? You were the one who turned him in to the police. He was imprisoned then died in a jail riot. Then, after a year, you took his son in. What was I missing?"

Before Nanjiro could say anything, Hana came in.

"Seijuro," his mother called lovingly as she approached him. Her blonde hair hung loosely on her shoulders, her golden eyes – the only genetic trait he got from his mother – lighting up at the sight of her only son.

He gave her a tight hug. "Welcome home, Okaa-san."

When Hana pulled away from Seijuro, she noticed the slightly tensed shoulders of her husband. "What's wrong? Are you two arguing again?" She crossed her arms on her chest, tone reprimanding.

Seijuro gritted his teeth as his father just looked away, refusing to acknowledge his mother. He could see the hurt in his mother's eyes and it made him hate his father more.

"We're not, Okaa-san." Seijuro tried his hardest to hide keep the anger from his voice. "We were just talking about business."

Hana let out a sigh. "Please don't talk about business in front of me." She walked to the door. "Come to the dining room when you're done talking. I cooked your favorite dish!" She smiled warmly then left.

Seijuro was about to follow her when Nanjiro gripped his arm. "Seijuro, please keep Tetsuya out of this. He's got nothing to do with any of this."

Seijuro let out a laugh as he patted his father's shoulder. "Otou-san, don't act like you are genuinely concerned because I know exactly why you took Tetsuya in. That kid owns sixty percent of the shareholdings of BlueSky and you're holding it in trust. BlueSky holds fifteen percent of our shares. Add that up with yours and you'll retain the control of our company. "

His father's grip loosened. "That is not –"

"Then, what exactly is the reason?"

His father stayed silent.

"Don't worry, father. I might just be able to use him better than you do." He smiled maliciously. "In fact, I can use him in more ways than one."

"Seijuro, Tetsuya looks up to you. Don't do anything to hurt him." His father sounded desperate, but Seijuro dismissed it as his father's last attempt to make him feel guilty.

"If you have nothing else to say…" Seijuro walked past Nanjiro. "… I want to spend time with my mother."

Seijuro found his mother in the dining room, setting up the food. She was so focused in what she was doing, the sight made Seijuro feel nostalgic. Back when he was a child, he would always come home to his mother's cooking. Back then, she was happy. They were happy.

"Okaa-san." He called lovingly as he approached his mother. He planted a kiss on top of her forehead.

"I see my baby hasn't changed much." Hana teased. "Sit down Seijuro."

The young Akashi did as he was told and murmured a soft "thank you" when Hana served him with Tofu soup. His mother took a seat beside him and watched in silence as he ate.

"You still cook the best Tofu soup, Okaa-san."

His mother beamed. "Of course, an Akashi always does the best. I wouldn't be your father's wife if I can't do the best."

Seijuro's mood turned sour. "Let's not talk about him."

"Seijuro," Hana put her hand on top of her son's.

"Okaa-san." His tone was underlined with a warning. He did not want this conversation. But, his mother was a stubborn woman. He could not turn his gaze away as clear golden orbs stared up at him.

"I know we're not in the best terms. But, I love Nanjiro." His mother looked away. "He wasn't a good husband. But, he tried his best to be a good father to you."

"He did. And, he failed." He abruptly stood up, feeling a little bit suffocated. "Okaa-san, I forgot that I still have work to do. I'll visit you some other time." He gave his mother one last hug then left the Akashi estate with only one destination in mind.

Midorima Shintarou sighed for the umpteenth time that day. He felt ten years older than he was with all the stress. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he turned the knob. His brow twitched when his eyes landed on Kise Ryouta hovering over Kuroko Tetsuya's bed.

"What the hell are you doing, Kise?"

The blond turned around, smiling while holding up what appears to be a lip balm stick. "Midorimacchi!" The greeting was too loud to Midorima's liking. "His lips were chapped and they were painful to look at!"

"Surely you didn't come here just to put cherry balm on his lips."

Kise tilted his head as he raised his hand to his chin. "Oh that… I just accompanied Aominecchi 'coz he wanted to visit the cute nurse."

"Cute nurse?"

"You know… Sakurai-kun. Also, I brought –" Kise bent down and picked up a Siberian Husky. Only then did Midorima notice the puppy. "- Kurokocchi's puppy! Come on, Nigou." Kise cooed as he held the puppy close the sleeping teen's face. "Wake your master up!"

As if understanding Kise, the puppy licked his master's face.

Midorima groaned as he felt a headache coming. He was just ordered by Akashi to check up on Kuroko. He did not expect to deal with Kise or Aomine. "This is troublesome." He grumbled under his breath as he walked over to the patient's bed. The constant beeping of the heart monitor made him even more irritated.

He was about to ask Kise of Kuroko's development when the door swung open, revealing Aomine and the nurse Sakurai Ryou.

"So, what do you think?" Aomine smiled seductively, hand trailing dangerously low on the nurse's back. The nurse looked like he was about to piss on his pants rather than seduced. Before the nurse could even think of filing a sexual harassment suit against the COO, Midorima cleared his throat to catch their attention.

Aomine stopped on his tracks, a frown slowly creeping on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be the one asking you that." Midorima crossed his arms on his chest. Before Aomine could retort, Midorima turned to the nurse. "How is he?"

The nurse stiffened. "W-who?"

Midorima groaned. Who else could he be asking about? He, once again, pushed his glasses up his nose bridge. "Kuroko." As if realizing something, the nurse apologized profusely, a heavy blush adorning his cheeks. Midorima waited patiently for the nurse to compose himself.

"The doctor said that he might be waking up sooner than we think. He opened his eyes just this morning but he slept again."

Midorima only nodded in understanding.

"A-Akashicchi…" Kise's voice trailed as he forced a crooked smile. Midorima turned around to see Akashi, blank-faced. Years of experience had his warning signals flaring. Akashi was in a bad mood. Every one of the officers knew better than to stay around the CEO when he was in a bad mood. In the blink of an eye, Aomine was already out the door pulling the nurse by the arm.

Midorima cleared his throat. "I'll go check on Murasakibara." He walked to the door, Kise trailing closely behind, the dog still clutched in his arms.

"I'll go with you Midorimacchi."

Before he closed the door, Midorima spared one last glance at Akashi, praying silently that the CEO would not do anything that will put all five of them in jail.

Akashi sat on the side of the bed once he was left alone with Kuroko. His eyes lingered a bit on the comatose patient's face before his eyes trailed to the picture book placed carelessly on the bedside table. He would not be surprised if Murasakibara attempted to read bedtime stories for the teen.

He did not pay much attention to the book when it was first shown to him by Murasakibara, but, the Executive Assistant's observation was right. The teen did have a talent in coloring. Judging by the almost yellow pages, the teen must have had it for years now. He turned the pages, one by one, the colors making sense. The prince's hair was red, as well as his eyes, while the princess' were blue, the same color as Kuroko's. It almost made him laugh. Almost.

"My father said you look up to me. But, I think it wasn't me you were looking at. It was him." He put the book back on its place. "Tell me, is it okay if I replace him?" His voice was laced with revulsion. He ran his fingers up the thin arm, ghosted over the pale neck, until it rested on the teen's lips. He hunched forward, stopping only when he was a few centimeters away from Kuroko's face.

"I'll play the prince in your fairytale." He whispered. "Would you wake up if I kiss you?"

Akashi put a chaste kiss on the corner of the teen's mouth. He briefly wondered why he could smell a faint scent of vanilla amidst the strong smell of antiseptic. When he pulled away, eyes, with the same color as the sky on a sunny day, were staring back at him.

Akashi Nanjiro stared dumbfounded as the Clerk of Court read the court's decision. Kuroko Akito was found guilty of embezzlement. With a blank face, he stared at his friend who looked like he was about to cry.

"Nanjiro," there was fear in the bluenet's eyes. "I didn't do it, Nanjiro! Nanjiro, please believe me!" He only watched as his friend struggled away from the police to no avail. Kuroko Akito's hands were pulled to his back, handcuffed.

"Nanjiro! Please, Nanjiro! Believe me!"

He watched. He only watched as his friend was taken away by the police.

"Nanjiro!" he heard his friend's last call before he finally disappeared. And Nanjiro just watched.

Akashi Nanjiro woke up, panting.

The ghost of his was past haunting him.

-end of chapter 3-

A/N: I honestly don't know how to make a longer chapter. How do writers do that? O.O

And… OMG! More than a hundred follows! I feel pressured. -.- Thank you so much for the beautiful reviews! I love it when you tell me what you think of the story. And, please watch out for clues. They're important when we finally reach the conclusion.

Next chapter, Kuroko's waking up!