Akashi slowly opened his eyes. No curtains were letting in light but nonetheless he knew it was morning. Akashi covered his face with his bed sheets. How he disliked mornings, he much preferred the night. Somehow the male mustered up enough will power to get out of bed, he was obliged to his mission and sleeping wasn't aiding that at all.

Akashi lived in a mansion. His room was very large and had velvet red curtains and bed spread. Akashi opened his curtains, the light hitting his eyes in an irritating way. After his eyes adjusted to the light Akashi headed to his bathroom and got ready for school.

He admired himself in the mirror. His sleek black demon wings were present. Akashi had bat like wings although the digits of his wings were blood red as opposed to black. On his head, black curled ram horns that turned a shade of blood red as the tips approached stood out. Akashi's nails were sharp and long, the base of the nail sprung red while the tips bore black. Akashi retracted his sharp nails; he only used them when fighting, although occasionally he woke up with them in their long form, as to why that happens from time to time he is not entirely sure. Some told the prince it had to do with his dreams but Akashi didn't recall having any dreams that night. Akashi's long demon tail swished around, like his nails his tail was red but faded black as the ends approached.

Upon closer inspection one would see very sharp fangs although, Akashi's fangs weren't very long for a demon of his stature.

Then there were Akashi's eyes. Right now they both appeared red, although as anger or power grew from the man, one eye would shine gold. Furthermore if anger was to grow to a higher level or if he tried to draw out more power than usual, his eyes would lose its pupils. Although this has never been seen by anyone, rather the only one to see this is no longer alive to tell the tale, if Akashi were to draw out enough power or he were to be very cross he would lose his iris and his whole eye would be enveloped in red and gold respectively.

After Akashi finished changing and preparing for school he sighed. It was time to put in his contact lens. Although Akashi could conceal his demon form, his powers were impossible to completely suppress. Although his eyes were both red as of this moment, if Akashi were to somehow grow cross his eye would turn gold regardless of what spell he placed to conceal the change of colour. The risk of his eye turning gold in school was not one Akashi favored, having an eye change gold would cause him to stand out among humans, which by no means was beneficial to him. After plopping the contact in his eye Akashi used a curse to conceal his demon form. After he was done Akashi headed off to leave.

Lunch lay on the table near by. It was a necessity to blend in with humans and so Akashi took the liberty of making food for himself. After grabbing his food and bag the demon prince headed off to Teiko high.

It had been a good two weeks since had been attending.

Akashi's first class was chemistry. Akashi took a seat next to his green haired friend Midorima. The two of them had met by chance on his first day of school, they had got along quiet well. Midorima was intelligent, Akashi liked that about him. Midorima wasn't annoyingly talkative either but it wasn't like he would ignore someone if they talked to him, given that the person in question is not asking something stupid or annoying. Akashi was comfortable around Midorima. Silence was comfortable between them.

Class went by without much chaos. Akashi and Midorima parted ways at the end of class with out much chatter.

Next on the redhead's schedule was physics.

Upon entering the class Akashi took his usual seat.

…

Oh great, Akashi rolled his eyes in slight irritation. The purple giant of their class decided to take the seat in front of him. Akashi had lost all hope in seeing the teacher now. Murasakibara was this fellows name. The two of them hadn't talked much besides the time the titan had spilled chips everywhere and Akashi offered to help clean out of boredom.

Akashi contemplated over telling Murasakibara to take a hike and sit somewhere else or putting put with it for the reminder of this class. Akashi hated being slightly on the short side. No, for that matter he was of AVERAGE height! These giant high schoolers just seem to be all over the place these days, that's all.

In the end he decided not to scold the purple haired boy, it wasn't worth it. After all, whatever the teacher was teaching Akashi already knew and so, Akashi sat staring at the purple haired man's back in irritation for the rest of the class.

After 'the class of not being able to see' ended Akashi made his way down to his locker seeing as it was now lunch. As much as Akashi would have loved to hang out on the roof with Kuroko and the others, he had other matters to attend to today.

Slithering through a sea of kids Akashi made his way down to the school's gym. Akashi entered the gym. The school's male volleyball club was using the gym at the moment. The man Akashi was looking for wasn't in at the moment so the male had time to observe the volleyball players. The small one with orange hair reminded him of a ball of sunshine.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" a brown haired girl with rectangular glasses apologized.

This wasn't the person Akashi was waiting for, who was she?

Recognizing the confusion on Akashi's face the girl quickly explained

"The captain of the Teiko male basketball team had to um, deal with some issues so he couldn't meet you. I brought the CD you request him to bring though, videos showing Aomine Daiki's skills, right?" The girl explained as she handed over the CD.

"I see. In any case, thank you." Akashi replied as he took the video.

"If I may ask, why do you need those? Are you a fan of his?" The girl with a rainbow ribbon in her hair earnestly asked

Akashi gave a polite smile

"My friends brother is a talent scouter and for the sake of Aomine's future he wants to monitor his growth. I am going to give these to him"

The girl pushed up her glasses and nodded, not wanting to pry any further. With that she scampered off.

Akashi glanced down at the gift he just received and chuckled. It was only a matter of time before the truth is uncovered, is Aomine one of the five holder of the Gem of Reason or not?

"OWOWOWOWOWOWO" The orange haired volleyball player shouted as he fell.

"The sun has set" a glasses wearing male, giggled in snark.

Akashi regarded them for a few seconds longer before exiting the gym. There was still sometime left before his next class but not enough time to make it to the roof. Akashi settled with heading to the library instead to get some class work done.

Next was Japanese. The demon prince took a seat next to Kuroko, it had been an unspoken understanding between the two of them that they would sit next to the other.

Akashi sighed as he turned to Kuroko. Kuroko's eyes were still dead. The look in his eyes change 12 days ago...

For some reason Kuroko wasn't himself, not many noticed a change in the ghost boy but Akashi did. Kuroko looked as though someone had just died or he had been sent for capital punishment. Akashi didn't point this out but he was concerned, not for any special reason exactly. Kuroko didn't seem like the kind to let things get under his skin, let alone let them affect him for so long. Akashi was curious as to what could get him this way. That and the fact he felt slightly saddened to not see the light in Kuroko's eyes. The light that spoke determination, the look of someone who would not let any hurdle in life stand in his way. Akashi much enjoyed seeing someone with such a look, a look similar to his own yet very different in a way he could not quiet pinpoint.

Now on the other hand, Kuroko's eyes now gave the look of someone who was forced to walk around after staying up all night for a week. He looked dead, like a zombie.

Akashi repeatedly asked Kuroko if something was wrong only to be dismissed every time but, you can't hide things from Akashi's keen eye. Akashi knew something was wrong with the male and he was going to find out.

Also, Akashi found it strange that Mayuzumi was no longer attending school here. Apparently their grandparents who lived overseas were in bad health and Mayuzumi, being the oldest of the triplets was sent to care for them. Now, most people would find that reason fine and not look too much into it. Normally, Akashi would do the same but not in this case, for whenever Akashi brought Mayuzumi up Kuroko would always look down.

Body language suggests that when people look up to the right side of the room it implies deep thinking, naturally, that only applies if neutral distant eyes accompany the gaze. The left side is more complicated because it depends on the eyes. Reminiscence, reflecting, questioning, these are all in the lefts side domain.

Looking down implies, lying, hiding, sadness, reflection, guilt and disappointment. The fact that Kuroko looked down implies that he's either sad, hiding something or guilty. Judging by how fast his eyes tend to flicker down it seems as though he's hiding something and guilty, perhaps even forlorn. All this body language was displayed when Mayuzumi was brought up into conversation. The most logical conclusion would be that something unpleasant had happened to Mayuzumi and it was affecting Kuroko, something worse than moving away overseas to take care of sick grandparents. Akashi Seijuro did not like having things hidden from him and as such swore to uncover the truth of this mystery. He did not enjoy being clueless at all.

"Hello" Akashi greeted to Kuroko, determined to find out what ales the other.

Kuroko's gaze fell on Akashi. Kuroko's eyes softened at the warmth the others eyes held. Warmth? No, Akashi Seijuro was not a warm and kindhearted person; he's the Prince of HELL. He's intimidating… right? Kuroko brushed those thoughts out of his head.

"Hello" Kuroko responded back.

Akashi frowned. Kuroko's eyes still seemed lifeless; it was as if someone had blown out a candle in his heart. How awful.

"I don't mean to pry but are you feeling okay?" Akashi inquired, his voice laced with concern that may or may not be false.

Kuroko sighed, Akashi had been nudging this question on to him since Mayuzumi had… died.

"For the millionth time, I am fine." Kuroko spoke with power in his voice.

"Why do you think I am asking you this question everyday?"

Kuroko contemplated weather to answer the question or not.

He decided against it.

Akashi was disappointed that he didn't receive an answer but he didn't push the topic any further. Pushing Kuroko to talk to him would be like cheating in a game, Akashi was above cheating. Also, if Kuroko was pushed and felt uncomfortable Akashi simply wouldn't feel right. Kuroko had shown him kindness and there was no need for Akashi to show disrespect to the other. An eye for an eye works with both feelings of animosity and tenderness after all, or, that's how the world should work.

"Well if you don't want to talk then fine. Moving on, how are you?"

"Fine…"

An awkward silence followed those words.

….

….

The teacher was late.

"The teacher is tardy, how unprofessional" Akashi criticized as he rolled his eyes in irritation.

Kuroko couldn't stop a small faint grin from growing on his face. Akashi could be childish in a mature way somehow, an odd combination.

Akashi's eyes widened in surprise for a millisecond before returning to their normal composed manner. The prince gave a small secretive smile as he gazed at Kuroko.

"Your are acting strange, is something the matter?" Kuroko questioned earnestly

Akashi smirked at this. Though it was faint, Kuroko finally smiled. The last time that occurred was weeks ago, Akashi felt he was one step closer to finding out the truth behind Kuroko's behavior change.

"Oh, no. Nothing is the matter, I was simply admiring your smile that you have finally graced me with." The tone Akashi used made it very hard to decipher if he was being sarcastic or not although his peaceful expression implied the latter.

Kuroko felt as though he was blushing, no exterior signs of this were shown though.

"Helllllo~? I am going to be your substitute teacher! Your teacher is being a dumbass and as such he has not shown up. I feel bad for you kids! NOT!" the supply teacher sang as she waltz into the room.

"I am Mrs. Enoshima, let's start working!" Mrs. Enoshima chimed

Akashi mentally sighed once again. This teacher was crazy or rather, she was too energetic and condescending.

"Let's see what your dumbass teacher assigned you. Oh lookey isn't this despair including? You little children have a project! Work! It's a partner project. You and a partner of your picking are going to research a classic Japanese folk tale or myth of your picking. You are expected to write out an informative speech with some visual form of presentation to go along with it. I have no clue when it's due, the teacher didn't say! How despair including! I guess you little kids will have to wait till your teacher comes back for that. Pick your partners and start planning~!" Enoshima informed

"Oh and if it gets to loud you are all as good as dead!~" She warned.

Akashi got up from his seat. Aomine Daiki, they would work together. Aomine has been showing signs of being a holder, this was Akashi chance to get close to him and confirm his suspicions.

As Akashi got out of his seat a sound rang through his ears

"Aomine-kun! Let's be partners!" Momoi exclaimed

"Whatever, sure why not." Aomine replied, still half asleep.

Great, perfect, fantastic. Akashi clenched his fists, no matter; he would find another way to get close to Aomine. After all, Akashi had been monitoring him for the past two weeks or so.

Now whom would Akashi partner with? Ruby red eyes scanned the room; some girls were staring at him, chatting to each other. Judging by their giggles and blushes, they wanted to pair up with him but lacked the courage to ask. A girl with beach blonde hair started to make her way over to Akashi, her green eyes twinkling while her face was turning a nice cherry red.

As much as Akashi would have loved to humor her, he rather not partner up with her. Why? Simply because the girl seemed to have a crush on him. Akashi did not come to the human world to fall in love or be romantically involved. That being said, being kind to people was an entirely different matter altogether. The girl's feeling would only hinder the assigned project and take time away from Akashi life. His goals came first, no need for set backs that could easily be avoided, and it's not efficient in the least.

As such before the girl could maker her way over to the prince Akashi turned around to find Kuroko. Kuroko would make a very efficient partner. The smaller male always respected Akashi's space and knew when not to pry. Furthermore his Japanese skills were good. Also, Akashi found his personality rather calming.

Although the real reason was because…

Well let's not jump to conclusions yet; the chances of THAT being true are so very slim after all.

"Kuroko, would you mind partnering up with me?" Akashi smoothly asked the angel

Kuroko locked eyes with him and nodded. "Akashi-kun I would love to, only one problem. What are we partnering up for?"

…

What?

A smile crept onto Akashi's face upon realizing what the other male had meant. A small sound akin to laughter started to bubble from the demon prince. Akashi put the back of his hand to his mouth to block out his giggles. Akashi Seijuro does not giggle after all.

Kuroko Tetsuya, what an odd human, Akashi thought to himself. Somehow Kuroko managed to not hear a word Mrs. Enoshima said, despite the fact she practically sang about the project at the top of her lungs. Not only that, it seems as if he had been daydreaming for the past few minutes, he didn't even notice everyone was partnering up. Kuroko Tetsuya… for someone who seemed so observant he was rather otherworldly at times.

Also, Kuroko's deadpan expression as he asked such a ridicules question did not help to lessen how peculiar he seemed.

Kuroko's brows furrowed slightly "What's so funny?" the male inquired in a monotone voice when he noticed the other trying to block what seemed like laughter.

Akashi smirked at his earnest question.

"Anyways, to answer your question, we are doing a project. We are to pick a Japanese myth or folktale and write a report on it, we are then going to present it to the class later. If you noticed our teacher is not here today so we don't know the due date" Akashi informed

Akashi took a quick glance back at the girl with green eyes. She was crying to her friends because she didn't get to pair up with the 'hot dude'. Her friends were reassuring her, telling her that maybe 'epic yaois' would happen. Whatever that means?

"Oh I see" Kuroko nodded, unaware of why Akashi was glancing in another direction

"We have the rest of this period to plan" Akashi stated

"I see. What tale do you want to do?"

Akashi pondered for a moment.

"The tale of the Bamboo Cutter?" Akashi voiced his thoughts. Not being from Earth the male didn't know many stories in extensive detail, not to say he didn't know any at all.

"Tanabata's story?" Kuroko threw the idea in the air.

"How about we research both and we will pick the one better suited to our assignment?"

Kuroko nodded.

"Um Akashi-kun when are we going to meet up to do this project?" Kuroko questioned as a wave of panic washed over him. They were partners; they would be spending time with each other. That idea seems pleasant enough if it wasn't for who they really were. Kuroko swallowed hard, one mistake and Akashi would figure out that he is an angel, who knows what would happen if that scenario were to play out!?

"We can meet up tomorrow after school? Is it okay to meet at your house, I'll bring my laptop?" Akashi planned

"Sure…" Kuroko trailed off

Why did Kuroko seem so distant all of a sudden, Akashi wondered. Did he not want to meet up for the project? Akashi gave a small frown, Kuroko was a confusing individual indeed. That's what made him all the more interesting though. Kuroko never failed to meet Akashi's expectations, no, for that matter the male always rose above his expectations. Truly amazing, even in the oddest ways. To stay as calm but still be expressive. To be so honest but not be an open book. To be gentile yet defensive at the same time. There was much to discover in this enigma know as Kuroko Tetsuya.

"Perhaps your sister can invite Daiki over and we can make it a little project date?" Akashi schemed, a smirk playing on his lips. The prince couldn't be partners with Aomine but a set back as small as that was of little problem to him. Akashi was absolute after all.

Kuroko frowned a bit at Akashi's request, that's the last thing he wanted to hear. The chances of him and Momoi's identities being found out were sure to double if they both were around him under the same roof; one slip up is all it could take after all. Still, Kuroko was in no position to refuse.

"I'll ask her to consider it" Kuroko flatly answered.

"If it's not too much trouble I wouldn't mind asking her myself?" Under normal circumstances Akashi wouldn't go so far but seeing as getting close to Daiki, a prime suspect is a part of his quest a mere 'Considering it' wasn't sufficient.

Getting up from his seat Akashi made his way over to Momoi and Aomine's table, not waiting for Kuroko's answer. Kuroko wondered why he was being so up front? Suddenly upon realization of Akashi's true goal Kuroko's heart sank. Akashi wants to be close to Aomine, he must suspect him as well. Kuroko concluded.

Kuroko stood up from his seat to stop Akashi but it was too late.

"Excuse me Momoi, Aomine, do you have a moment?" Akashi smoothly cued.

Momoi jumped in her seat as she heard the secretive sounding voice. She looked up only to see none other than the demon prince. What does he want?!

"Do you need something?" She innocently asked, feeling nowhere near as oblivious as she sounded.

"As you may have noticed I am working on this assignment with your brother. We were planning to meet at your house tomorrow to work. We were wondering if you would like to bring Aomine over and work as well, a project date of sorts?" Akashi offered.

Momoi seemed at a loss for words. No, was the answer she wanted to say. Two angels, one demon and a suspected holder that they both after in ONE house, NO WAY!

The pink haired girl opened her mouth to protest with some lie but Aomine cut her off

"Sure why not. I am free tomorrow and Satsuki said she was too a minute ago. Let's do it." The dark skinned male brushed off.

You idiot, Momoi wanted to scream. Momoi darted her eyes to Kuroko for help. Kuroko sighed and shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

"Good to hear." Akashi gave a smirk of triumph

"Can you come over at 2? You can leave whenever it suits you?" Momoi offered, trying to sound upbeat to cover the fact that she was mentally crying.

"Yes I can, pleasure talking to you." The red haired male concluded.

Walking away from the female angel and suspected holder Akashi joined back with Kuroko.

"I assume you overheard?" Akashi inquired

"Yes I did…" Kuroko confirmed

"That makes things easier."

Ring! Ring!

The bell chimed. "Well then we better head our separate ways" Akashi stated as he made his way over to his desk to collect his binders.

Akashi left the classroom feeling satisfied, everything was going just as planned. Akashi elegantly made his way down the long hallway to his next class, mathematics.

Entering the classroom Akashi took a seat next to a bubbly blond named Kise Ryouta. They were not 'friends' per say. Math wasn't Kise's strong suit while Akashi excelled at it, as he does with most things. A week ago the math teacher, Mr. Togami had made himself aware of Akashi's abilities and called him up to solve a very complex problem. The redhead had of course solved the problem with ease. Later that class the bubbly blond had approached him and pleaded for help, seeing as they had a test coming up. Akashi reluctantly agreed to his wishes seeing as Kise wouldn't stop pestering him for help until he helped.

The test was completed a few days ago but Kise insisted that Akashi sit next to him in case he needed help on something. To put it in his words exactly "Akashicchi is so amazing! You can make anything easy to understand! Please sit with me so I don't flunk math! You wouldn't want me to fail, right?" he then proceeded to hugging the smaller male while crying crocodile tears. Slightly annoyed but flattered, Akashi gave in and continued to sit with the other.

"Hello!" the part time model chimed as Akashi took his seat.

"Hello" Akashi softly murmured to the boy.

Mr. Togami quickly got the classes attention with his intimidating glare. He then proceeded to teaching his lesson, as a good teacher would do.

Akashi rested his chin on his hand as he absentmindedly listened to his teacher. With his free hand Akashi rhythmically tapped his pencil to his desk silently. A dark refined aura surrounded Akashi as an evil smirk played at his lips. His demeanor should have scared off anyone planning to talk to him. Akashi was content. In one day he had made much progress. Akashi had gathered video footage that may reveal Aomine's hidden secrets and he had set it up so they would be meeting tomorrow at Kuroko's house. Today was a good day indeed.

"Um A-Akashicchi you have a s-scary look on your face…" Kise whispered, cupping his hand to his mouth to prevent the teacher or others from overhearing.

Akashi's expression softened into a mischievous smile that reeked of hidden motives "Oh do I~" the demon haughtily chimed.

Kise felt a shiver run down his spine, he felt as though he had somehow shortened his life expectancy.

Akashi mentally laughed at Kise's reaction. "I was only teasing, settle down" Akashi reasoned

"Y-yeah!" Kise sputtered straightening up, still looking as if he had just wet himself.

Akashi rolled his eyes sarcastically at Kise's fear.

"Ryouta, answer the next question!" commanded , pointing a finger at the already scared male. Kise suddenly was washed over with a different kind of fear.

"I…" Kise started.

"Have no idea!" he brightly said, a wide smile gracing his face.

"That's not going to work on me. Pay attention." spat coldly.

"Yes sir…" Kise replied dejectedly

"Well that's all for today, dismissed" Mr. Togami announced as the bell rang.

Kise and Akashi collected their things as they walked out of class. Akashi took off to his locker before Kise to avoid the rush in the halls and the amount of fangirls that were going to swarm the model any moment now. Akashi had been caught up in a rush like that many times and by no means was it pretty. When his so called fans spotted Akashi they started to sequel about Kise's "hot new friend" and "Epic yaois". Whatever that is?

Akashi safely made it to his locker, safely meaning he didn't need to kill anyone to make it here. When the hall started to flood with people Akashi turned a notch up on his intimidating aura and students literally cleared the path for him as if he was a prince or something. Ironic isn't it?

Lunch. Akashi paused as he packed his bag, he had forgotten to eat, not that really it mattered to him. The problem was Kuroko… they had made a tradition of sharing lunch since the first few days of school. Apparently Momoi was a bad cook and Mayuzumi before he 'left' had no interesting in cooking. Kuroko himself wasn't very into it as well. Since then Akashi had always split his lunch with Kuroko. Momoi took to stealing from Aomine.

A frown grew on Akashi's face; Kuroko must have not eaten today. Humans need food, humans like Kuroko, he must be hungry Akashi figured. Akashi brushed the thought off as he finished packing his bag, there was nothing he could do about the matter now.

With that Akashi picked up his business like bag and left Teiko High.

Plop. Drip. Drop.

As soon as Akashi left the school he was met with droplets of water sprinkling down on him.

Rain.

Perfect.

Akashi could feel his hair and clothes growing wetter by the second, as if he was thrown into the shower fully clothed. As much as the male liked the rain, this rain was as cold as the Arctic! Quickly, Akashi returned to the school.

"Aw, rain!" The girl with the rainbow ribbon from earlier exclaimed to her friend as she stepped out of the school.

"… sucks." Her friend who had ponytail commented.

"I think they have some umbrellas for students in the gym." The rainbow ribbon one pondered.

"It's okay I have an umbrella" her friend explained as he pulled out an umbrella.

"Get under unless you want to get wet" the ponytail one warned.

"You are always prepared for this kind of stuff" The girl from earlier praised as she ducked under her smaller friends umbrella.

Well then… they have umbrellas in the gym? Akashi paced his way over to the gym in search of the said rain protector. When Akashi entered the gym he froze at what he saw.

Soon a twisted smirk of victory grew on his lips.

Jackpot.

AN: Sorry if the wording in this chapter is a little wonky, I couldn't get it to come out the way I wanted...

Ahhh, sorry for the wait as well! By no means have I left this fic at all! I went on vacation and was a little busy this summer but still, I have no excuse, SORRY! I really appreciate all the reads I have gotten for this, thank you all so much!

To answer a frequently asked question...

No, Akashi doesn't know that Kuroko and Momoi are angels.

Please review and stuff~