Chapter 5: Enduring Persistence
Kuroko rushed blindly through the halls, pushing the crowd aside in her desperation to escape the Student Council meeting room. The green-haired doctor was her bond-mate and it was likely that the red-haired President was too. Not only that, they knew she was an Inferior. Kuroko felt hopelessness rush through her. The tiny seed of hope for love and acceptance was crushed.
Kuroko was so focussed on getting away that she was paying no attention to where she was going. As such, it wasn't long before she bumped into someone and was sent crashing to the ground. A piercing shriek filled her ears as she gazed up and gold filled her vision.
"Kurokocchi!" Kise exclaimed, hurriedly helping the girl to her feet. Taking in her wide, staring eyes and trembling frame Kise pulled her close and dragged her to an empty classroom. Sitting the girl in a chair, he knelt in front of her and gently took her hands his. Looking into her terrifyingly blank eyes Kise asked, "What's wrong?" Kuroko blinked, a spark of confusion entering her sky-blue eyes as she murmured "Kise-kun."
Kise suppressed the desire to hug the beautiful girl in front of him, satisfying himself with tightening his grip on Kuroko's hands. "What's wrong, Kurokocchi?" he asked again, the hint of worry seeping into his voice causing Kuroko's eyes to widen almost imperceptibly before they closed. Leaning back in her chair, an air of resignation hanging over her, she withdrew her hands from Kise's grip and slowly pushed the sleeves of her school shirt to her elbow, exposing the silver wrist-cover that was the source of all her misery.
The blond stared at the silver staining Kuroko's wrist for a long moment before returning his gaze to the girl who sat as rigidly as a statue, clenching her fists by her sides and keeping her eyes shut tightly. Suddenly Kise rose, dragged Kuroko to her feet, and enclosed her in a tight embrace as he flooded the bond between them with warmth and reassurance. Kuroko struggled, trying to break free of Kise's grip but the boy just held on tighter until she stilled. When the girl registered the feelings from the bond she and Kise shared she broke down, clinging to Kise's shirt as she sobbed even as no tears left her eyes. Kise simply held on, his grasp gentle and tender, as his eyes filled with tears from the pure sadness that was emanating from his bond with the bluenette.
When Kuroko's sobs finally abated, Kise looked down at the fragile girl in his arms and asked "Would you like to meet the rest of your bond-mates, Kurokochii?" Kuroko startled, staring at Kise with her customary blank eyes. At her continued silence Kise continued; "It's just, we've all really been looking forward to meeting you, and you're going to run into everyone sooner or later anyway, and I just thought you might want…" His babbling abruptly cut off at the sound of a gentle chuckle, and he stared in wide-eyed wonder at the small, soft smile the petite bluenette was giving him. "Alright." She said quietly, before a worried frown creased her brow. "You're sure they won't mind that I'm an Inferior?" she asked, twisting her hands tightly together to keep from worrying her shirt hem in her distress. Kise beamed and exclaimed "They won't care at all, Kurokocchi! Let's go!" and he proceeded to drag the startled girl behind him as he made his way to his apartment as fast as he could.
Akashi led Midorima into their shared apartment, keeping a firm grip on his arm the entire time. Ordering the green-haired man into a seat, Akashi stood over him and waited. After a few minutes, Midorima looked up, a slightly haunted cast to his eyes. "How…?" he asked, before shaking his head. "The question is not how." Akashi stated. "The question is why. And I'm afraid there is no good answer, Shintaro." Midorima nodded slowly, already knowing the truth of Akashi's words.
"How can we help?" he asked instead, slumped shoulders straightening with purpose. "I'm afraid we can't Shintaro, not until our Tetsuya is willing to accept the bond." Akashi's teeth were clenched and his hands fisted at the helplessness of the situation. They could not help their last bond-mate if she did not want their help.
The sudden crash of a door opening distracted the due from their predicament as Aomine stalked into the room, muttering curses under his breath. He was followed closely by Murasakibara, who was munching on a chocolate bar. The childish giant was the first to notice the two already in the room and spoke, "Mido-chin, what happened?" offering a snack to the visibly upset green-haired man.
"Daiki." Akashi's stern voice caused Aomine to look up, paling slightly at the displeasure in the heterochromatic eyes currently fixed on him. "Mind your language." "Sorry, Akashi." The tanned male muttered, avoiding meeting the red-head's gaze. "To answer Atsushi's question," Akashi's abrupt change of subject caused Aomine to quietly breathe a sigh of relief. "We met Tetsuya Kuroko, and Shintaro bonded to her."
Akashi's blunt declaration left Aomine and Murasakibara reeling. Recovering quickly, Aomine spluttered, "But how? What happened?" while Murasakibara asked "Is Mido-chin alright?" "Shintaro will be fine." Akashi answered as Midorima's face tinged pink from the concern emanating through the bond. "However, the shock once again caused Tetsuya to run."
As Akashi explained what had happened and the events leading up to it, Aomine and Murasakibara's expressions grew darker and fury began to permeate the bond when Midorima took over to describe Kuroko's injuries. Once the tale was finished, Aomine and Murasakibara's expressions were thunderous. "So," Aomine exclaimed, all but shaking with fury "what are we going to do about it?" "Nothing." Akashi's answer stopped him short. "Why, Aka-chin?" Murasakibara asked, bag of snacks abandoned at some point during the tale. "Because," Akashi said, a bitter grimace twisting his lips, "she is not yet ours. As such, we can do nothing as she has not accepted us." "Then we win her over." "How, Aomine?" Midorima questioned irately. "Every time one of us has tried to get close to her, she has run away in fear." The group lapsed into silence after that, unable to come up with any plausible ideas.
As Kise dragged the small girl along behind him, he concentrated on the bond they shared. Even in such close proximity, she had muted it so much he could barely make out a thing. Even so, he could tell that her emotions were in turmoil. Glancing back, he marvelled at the blank, almost vacant expression on her face. It was the perfect mask. His own expression darkened though at what she must have endured in order to achieve such self-control. He brightened however, at the thought that she would not be alone for much longer. He and the others would break down her walls no matter how long it took. They were nothing if not persistent.
Kise and Kuroko stood outside the door to the Student Council apartments. "Come on, Kurokocchi, what are you waiting for?" Kise urged, excited to finally introduce the girl to their remaining bond-mates. Kuroko, for her part was feeling very wary and was beginning to have some serious doubts about this being such a good idea. The choice was ultimately taken out of her hands when Kise, tired of waiting and sensing an imminent cop-out, flung the door open and all but bounced into the room, happily exclaiming "Look who I found!"
The sudden attention of the other occupants of the room caused Kuroko to shrink behind the tall blonde's back. Steeling herself, Kuroko took several deep breaths to steady her nerves before stepping out from behind Kise, poker-face firmly in place. Bowing politely to the room in general, she murmured in a quiet voice, "Hello."
Author's note: Wow, just wow. I am so sorry it took this long to update. I hadn't realised how much the reviews encouraged my motivation to write. Still, between a lack of motivation, malfunctioning computers and life getting in the way, I have managed to get out a fair chunk of Chapter 6 done as well as this so next update should be pretty soon.
I would like to thank DoctorK71 for her fantastic beta skills, this could not be accomplished without her.
Please leave a review :)