Recurring Question

Chapter Two

Red. Everything was red—

From his hair, to his eyes... to the blood that was pouring out of him.

But no. He can't die.

None of them could.

How he wish he was right.

Kagami followed Kuroko's lead in their drive. He could faintly remember that Aida kept telling him that Kuroko had some special abilities, one of which is sensing where vampires are. He could also remember when Aida told him that Kuroko is a very important person in their organization Seirin, even though the red-haired was sure that the pale boy joined almost the same time as he did. He didn't know what action done in a very short time that could merit such recognition.

The tall red-eyed male shrugged internally. He knew he should follow orders of keeping the small teen safe.

Kagami looked around him, still enjoying the cool wind of dusk as he sped through the wide road. The small town that Seirin protected surprisingly has a good set of roads, free of cracks and dangerous curves. Tall grass grew on both sides of the road but did not block the view of the foggy bluish mountains in the morning and the twinkling lights of the nearby city at night.

That small town was once the center of all commerce in Japan, or so Aida told him. But that was until fifteen years ago, when the invasion of vampires in Tokyo occurred. In fear of the night creatures, many people ran away from the city. The focus of business shifted to Kyoto, where most people had fled, while most of Tokyo was left a den for the vampires from the foreign lands.

Still, Tokyo wasn't completely abandoned to the otherworldly creatures. Several organizations stood to fight against the vampires that dared attack the remaining human towns, as well as to keep the vampire territory from expanding towards Kyoto and other cities. These organizations include Seirin. But Seirin was fairly new as it was established only two years ago, unlike other organizations including Touo, Kaijo and Shuutoku that are established more than fifteen years ago. There was also Yosen, and lastly Kyoto's prized protector organization Rakuzan, which was said to be the strongest of all organizations since Teiko's fall.

All that was considered as common knowledge, even to children as they have heard stories from their parents and elders. But that didn't go the same for Kagami. He didn't even know what Teiko was.

Kagami was a returnee from America, staying there for a few years with his father before his father decided that he should stay in Japan to keep safe. The situation in America had gone worse than Japan, as the larger country tried to suppress both vampires and zombies originating from its surrounding countries, not to mention the epidemic that the zombies were spreading.

The tall teen just learn most of current news from Aida and Hyuuga. Kuroko wasn't the most talkative person around but would tell him some facts now and then. Before he joined Seirin, all Kagami knew in vampire hunting was to attack or to run away. And the large male knew in himself that he'd never pick the second choice.

Suddenly, Kuroko's bike made a ninety-degree turn, skidding to a halt as it faced a narrow alley. Kagami hadn't realized that they were already in the middle of the town.

The streets were deserted. He was aware that Aida ordered a 7PM curfew to the townspeople. There was very little resistance with the sudden order since most of the people living in the town only till lands with natural light and would go home the moment the sun goes down. There were office workers and market vendors too but they were polite and wise enough to follow Seirin's order, as they are aware of what a first-degree vampire could do to their small community.

Kagami's bike slid easily beside Kuroko's. The red-haired boy threw the other teen a questioning look. "Kuroko, what's wrong?"

"The first-degree vampire..." Kuroko started saying, but the rest of his words were missed by Kagami's ear as the light blue-haired boy suddenly jumped from his bike, throwing his helmet off and bolting through the narrow alley.

"Hey... hey!" Kagami yelled. He put his helmet on his bike's handlebars after killing the engines. He ran after Kuroko, fearing that the boy would be lost in sight. For the short time that the two had been together, Kagami would almost always lose visual on the light blue-eyed male that he was once tempted to put a leash on the smaller teen.

To his surprise, he managed to catch up with the phantom, who stood at the end of the alley.

"Kuroko, what—?"

Kagami's eyes widened as he saw the scene that started from the tip of Kuroko's heavy dark boots. It was almost a copy of what they had seen that afternoon — torsos with no heads, arms and legs littered across a bloody landscape. Even the wall that stood before Kagami and Kuroko had splashes of blood, making the scene seem messier than the one before it.

The only difference was the quarter moon that shone its light, making the scene an art of silver and black. Another difference was the evident cracks and craters on the cement — on the floor and on the wall. Lastly, there was a headless body that sat with its back on the wall in front of Kagami and Kuroko, with its arms and legs perfectly intact but in odd angles. And its missing head seemed to have exploded from a very strong impact.

"You're late," said a deep voice that was full of amusement.

Kuroko looked up at the dark-skinned boy who sat atop the cemented wall, noting the familiar blue hair and the smug smile that sat on that handsome features of the tall male. The light blue-haired boy could not forget that face and that wide smile that showed the canines that belonged none other than that of a vampire.

"What are you doing here?" Kuroko asked darkly. "Aomine-kun."

The said vampire called Aomine continued to smile.

"That's a rather cold welcome from you, Tetsu."

"Bastard,... Who are you?" Kagami said, his hands in fists as he looked at the dark-skinned teen. "What do you think you're doing to my town?"

Aomine Daiki smirked at them.

...

"What are you talking about?" Aida frowned at Furihata. "What do you mean by the first-degree vampire is dead?"

The brown-haired boy gulped. "That is what Izuki-senpai wants me to report. Also..." It was Furihata's turn to look grim. "There is another problem."

Furihata realized that his shoulders were slumped from running so he straightened his posture. Putting his arms to his sides, he took as breath as he delivered the news.

"A third-degree vampire is in town."

...

The blue-haired male smirked at them.

"I'm Aomine Daiki," he said, jumping off the wall. He dropped silently, if not for the very slight splash of blood on his black shoes. He also wore equally dark pants, while his large chest was covered by crisp white shirt. An open navy blue jacket was over his white shirt and a neat blue-stripped tie completed his look. "I'm a third-degree vampire from the clan of Maki and a hunter of Touo."

"Third-degree vampire?" Kagami repeated. He noticed that a pin was on Aomine's collar and thought it was familiar.

To his surprise, Aomine raised an arm. Kagami went into a defensive stance. But then he notice that Aomine's position was of defense as well, shifting slightly as if receiving several invisible blows. In that flash, Kagami found that a light blue blur was attacking the said third-degree vampire.

"Kuroko...!"

The pale teen swung his arm to the side of Aomine's head. A large dark hand wrapped on the black-sleeved pale arm, pulling slightly to cause the smaller teen to lose balance. Another hand grabbed the other pale arm. The blue-haired vampire pulled Kuroko's hand behind the smaller boy, rendering the small male immobile.

Aomine forced the other boy closer to his chest. Leaning closer to Kuroko's ear, he whispered, "Calm down, Tetsu. You're not supposed to be attacking me."

Kuroko tried to free himself of Aomine's hold. But both males knew that what the younger boy did was fruitless, considering the strength the larger male possesses. Seeing that the red-haired teen was about to attack him too, Aomine suddenly threw the smaller male in his hold towards the red-haired, using as little force as he could so as not to hurt the two.

Kuroko and Kagami landed in the heap, with Kagami surprised with Aomine's sudden movement and Kuroko unable to control his landing. They slid on the slippery blood-covered ground, before halting just beside the wall. Aomine watched them with gleaming eyes, dusting his hands.

The tall dark-skinned male walked towards the two, meeting the anger-filled light blue eyes with his own cold blue ones. "So you dig redheads."

"Aomine-kun." Kuroko mentioned every syllable with uncharacteristic venom in his voice. He narrowed his eyes as he stood up and walked towards Aomine. "This is not the time to be joking. Where is he?"

'Tetsuya—'

Aomine's eyes widened as he continued to stare at the younger male in front of him. He frowned, unable to look away. Still, up to that moment, Aomine didn't know when to say what he knew.

Kuroko gripped Aomine's vest. His light blue eyes welled up with tears — tears that he never knew in himself that would exist, not until he could feel the heaviness in his chest that threatened to overwhelm him. His chest felt heavy, he thought he couldn't breath. And he could feel the warm liquid trace a line on his pale cheeks, but he didn't care.

"Tell me, Aomine-kun," Kuroko cried. "Where is he? Where is Akashi-kun?"

For the second time that night, the door of Aida's office opened suddenly.

"Yah ho~ Tetsu-kun!" a small female ran through the door, her bubbly giggles immediately following her greetings. But as she ran her round pink eyes around the room to find only brown and black hair, her laughter died down. "Where's Tetsu-kun?"

"You're Touo's—?"

"— Momoi Satsuki," she continued for the brown-haired female as a form of introduction of herself. "I'm Touo's informant."

She smiled at them. But unlike the earlier twinkle, there was a flash of seriousness in her eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Seirin's leader Aida Riko and Seirin's captain Hyuuga Junpei."

A/N:

Sorry to break the news to you readers but this is KuroAka/AkaKuro. And AoAka and... lots more, I think. The plot's one heck of a complicated jumble in my head. This chapter is just another introductory update though.

Thanks for reading, reviewing, putting the story in your favorite and follow lists, and supporting born on the day of earthquakes! :D