Chapter 3: Unfounded Worry

Kise woke slowly, consciousness gradually returning to him. Grimacing at the pain in his head, he blinked his eyes open. He immediately shut them again, the light was far too bright for his sensitive pupils. Kise groaned, causing the person sitting by his bedside to look up from the stack of papers he was leaning over.

"Ryouta." Akashi sighs, an undertone of relief to his voice. "How do you feel?" He continued, approaching the bed and meeting Kise's gaze.

Kise gave a faint grimace of pain, "Phantom aches and pains. I'll be fine." Akashi pursed his lips but said nothing, concern evident in his eyes despite the blankness of his face. He nodded, then left the room, returning a few minutes later with Midorima. Aomine and Murasakibara hovered by the door, not wanting to get in the way, but desperate to see that their bond-mate was alright. Kise remained quiet throughout Midorima's examination of him, knowing it was for everyone's peace of mind.

Once it was finished, Kise sat up and everyone approached his bedside, Murasakibara offering a bag of marshmallows while Aomine sat on the bed, leaning against its occupant. After a moment, Aomine spoke, "What happened?"

Everyone frowned, remembering the panic that had shot though them when Kise had suddenly doubled over, agony written on his face before passing out in the living area of their apartment. Kise's head shot up, agony and fear written across his features. "Kurokocchi!" he exclaimed, before throwing off the covers and getting up. The room converged on Kise as he swayed, he would have fallen if not for Midorima grabbing him and holding him up. "You are so reckless nanodayo." he murmured, lowering Kise back onto the bed before ordering Aomine to get some water. Draining the glass, Kise calmed a little and Akashi repeated Aomine's question; "What happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Kise began to reiterate how he had felt pain sparking along the bond, noticed that no one else seemed to be feeling it. It had concerned him, but he couldn't do anything. He hadn't realised what he was feeling was Kuroko's emotions until the sudden intense feeling of pain/terror/desperation/resignation that surged along the bond so violently that he had fainted. "But the worst thing," Kise finished, drawing in a shaky breath, not looking at the rest of his bond-mates, knowing the horror he would find on their faces. "The worst thing was that it was still muted. Kurokocchi was in so much pain, yet I couldn't feel all of it. There were still barriers in her mind. I –""Ryouta." Akashi said firmly. "Look at me." Kise looked up, eyes widening in shock as he took in the controlled rage that lurked behind the heterochromic eyes. "We will find her, we will claim her, and we will never let her hurt again. I promise you." With that, Akashi turned and swept out of the room, leaving everyone staring after him in awe. Aomine smirked. "I love when he gets like that." He said to the room before following after his bond-mate, Murasakibara behind him.

Midorima heaved a sigh at his bond-mates antics before levelling a stern glare at Kise. "Don't try to get up. Leave everything to us, nanodayo." He said, before getting up to go after them, mumbling about having to keep everyone out of trouble. Kise gave a weak laugh, breathless with exhilaration. They would be getting their last bond-mate, the final piece that would make them complete. He leant back in his bed and drifted off, content in the knowledge that Kurokocchi was in the best hands possible.

Kuroko swam slowly in and out of consciousness. She had no concept of time passing, just of pain. On occasion, she would feel a surge of protectiveness in the back of her mind, mostly she just drifted, swamped by waves of agony or numbness by turns. She wished there was someone there to help her, and that she didn't feel so alone.

Akashi was worried. It was not an emotion he was used to feeling and he didn't like it. Worry meant that he was powerless and that was unacceptable, Akashi was, after all, absolute. It had been three days since Kise's episode had occurred and he had found nothing on Tetsuya Kuroko, he turned back to the school registry he was reading, already knowing that the one name he was looking for was not there. Midorima was sitting stiffly opposite him, disapproving scowl firmly in place. He had given up trying to get Akashi to take a break two hours ago. Akashi ignored him. Equally, he ignored the munching of Murasakibara eating his snacks and Aomine's snores as he slept at his desk. Kise was still in bed resting and forbidden from joining them.

"Akashi," Midorima started, fiddling with a flower wreath (his lucky item for the day), "you have looked through that register five times now. Kuroko's name is not in there." Akashi sighed, then closed the file. His bond-mate was right after all. "I know Shintaro. But there is nowhere else to look. This Tetsuya Kuroko is like a ghost." Akashi heaved an uncharacteristic sigh of frustration. "If it wasn't for the name on Ryouta's wrist, I would doubt she exists." "Then perhaps," Midorima started, unsure where this was heading but needing to help in some way. "Perhaps, in the eyes of the school, Kuroko doesn't exist."

Akashi furrowed his brow, thinking. Their school prided itself on its superiority, on excellence and being above all others. Still, there were classes for Inferiors. Most of the students were unaware of these classes, but the teachers would have to be. Though few, there were still some attending the school due to special circumstances. None would be marked in the school register though. The school wouldn't want any public record of Inferior's attending the prestigious Teiko Academy. He was unsure if there was even a private record of them.

Akashi's eyes widened. That was it! Tetsuya Kuroko was an Inferior! With that piece things began to slot into place; their inability to find their bond-mate in the school despite knowing they were there. Her reaction when the bond formed, that she ran away upon its formation, even the episode Kise had when he had been feeling Kuroko's pain. No Superior would have just let someone inflict such pain on them. Inferior's, on the other hand, had little choice. They had almost no protection in the eyes of the law.

Midorima eyed Akashi nervously. It was obvious that the other had figured something out, but the almost murderous rage in his cat-like eyes was worrisome. Still, he kept quiet. There would be trouble if anyone stood in Akashi's way when he was like this.

Kuroko stood in front of the school gates, staring up at the massive building. It had been a week since her father had beaten her to within an inch of her life and she was finally recovered enough to drag herself to school. She couldn't afford to miss too much, her grades suffered enough due to her frequent absences. Unfortunately, with bandages still wrapped around much of her body and her face faintly lined with pain, her misdirection was not as effective as it usually was. It still worked, but she received more attention than she really wanted as she made her way to class.

At lunch time, Kuroko skipped going to the cafeteria, her throat and stomach still tender enough that eating anything from there would be a bad idea. Instead, she headed outside. The day was warm enough, though slightly overcast and the threat of rain meant not many people had dared to venture outside. Kuroko settled against a tree and just rested. She might be better, but she was nowhere near recovered and several of her injuries were voicing protests at the work they were being put through.

"Excuse me." A smooth, cultured voice broke through Kuroko's daydream and she snapped to attention. It had been a long time since anyone had been able to take her by surprise. "I was wondering if you were alright." There was the faintest undertone of concern in his voice that Kuroko would not have picked up on were she not so adept at reading people. She swallowed nervously and looked up.

She almost bolted when she met the eyes of Seijuuro Akashi, Teiko's student council president.

Author's Note:

Chapter 3 - Done. Thank God! A big thank you to my Beta DoctorK71 for helping me sort out the pile of crap this chapter was at first. And thank you to all the wonderful people who have reviewed my work; it's thanks to you I muddled through this. Hopefully the next chapter won't give me so many problems - here's hoping!