Betrayal In Its Most Simplest Form

Chapter 4

"What are we going to do?"

"We are going to do nothing, Daiki. We will simply wait for Tetsuya's injuries to heal before we do anything else."

"But-!"

"Daiki."

There was silence. Kuroko tried to make sense of the conversation and where he was. His head was being supported by something warm, and a hand caressed his head over and over. A dull pain radiated throughout his body, but it wasn't anything major. He could feel a light blanket over his body. The hand that was running through his hair felt comforting, soothing, and he didn't want it to stop.

Unfortunately, it did stop. The hand stopped at the base of his neck, squeezing lightly in affection. "Tetsuya."

Kuroko knew he'd been caught. He obediently opened his eyes, squinted from the sudden light, and stared at the blank red-haired teen's face. A faint blush came onto his face when he realized he was lying on his past captain's lap.

"The fact that you're blushing means you're healing well," Akashi said, amused.

"Kurokocchi?" an uninvited voice cried.

"Tetsu!"

"Kuro-chin is alive!"

"Of course he's alive, baka."

"Eh-h? Why is Mido-chin so mean?"

Kuroko blinked and stared at the three colorful basketball players who loomed over him. The number-one-shooter sat at Kuroko's feet. "Everybody," he managed to croak. "You came."

An annoyed sigh came from Midorima. "Well, we were more or less forced to, but of course we came," then the annoyance turned into worry, "You've been out for a few hours. Are you all right?"

Everyone anxiously waited for the pale teen to answer. "Hai . . . It doesn't hurt as much anymore." There was an obvious sigh of relief in the room. Kuroko turned his gaze toward his 'pillow'. "Ano, Akashi-kun?"

"Yes?" The second shortest in the room answered indifferently.

"How . . . did I get here?" Feeling out of character, Kuroko turned slightly with a wince and started fiddling with the end of Akashi's shirt.

It was Murasakibara who answered, "Aka-chin carried Kuro-chin all the way to Aka-chin's apartment!" The tall teen paused, and then said, "Oh, but this isn't Aka-chin's real house. His house is too far away for him to carry you."

It was true. If Akashi took the smaller boy all the way to his house, he would have to take a four-hour train, and Kuroko would have been in danger by then. Since his parents could afford it, Rakuzan's ace had a complex in almost every city he usually visited.

"You carried me? I apologize for being such a hindrance," the polite teen said and struggled to get up. Twenty hands came to help. Kuroko fought the urge to flinch and reminded himself they were just helping. He managed to sit in an upright position without his wounds opening, and Akashi laid a hand on his shoulder, to steady him. The small boy looked blankly at the old first string of Teiko's basketball team and then reverted his eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble," he mumbled.

"Baka." Midorima's hand lightly smacked the back of Kuroko's head, but he made sure to avoid the injured area. "You're not causing that much trouble."

"Midorimacchi is right, Kurokocchi," Kise said loudly. "We want to be here!"

Kuroko surveyed in wonder the rainbow-haired people who had come from miles away just to see him. Each had a concerned expression on; even Murasakibara had stopped eating his chocolate bar. "Thank you, everyone," he thanked quietly.

Akashi sighed inaudibly and stood up from the couch, stretching his legs and stiff muscles. Everyone watched the red head in silence, anticipating his next move. "Are you hungry, Tetsuya?"

"No, I—"

"You're eating," the former captain said firmly. "I will make something for you, and you are expected to eat everything I make." Kuroko didn't have a chance to speak as Akashi leaned down, ruffled his hair gently, and left for the kitchen.

For some reason, when the feared player left, the room immediately got warmer by a few degrees. Everybody, including Kuroko, sweat-dropped.

"Uwa-a-h!" The loud blonde cried and clung onto the closest person's—who was unfortunately Aomine—arm. "Akashicchi is so scary!"

"Let go of me!" Aomine tried to shake off Kise.

"Quiet," Midorima ordered. "He can still hear us. And I don't think Kuroko can handle loud noise." They all turned to look at the silent teen. "If it hurts, Kuroko, you have to tell us. Akashi's orders, too. He'll be angry if he knows you're downplaying it." With one hand, the green haired fiddled with a glue stick (which was probably his lucky item) and the other pushed up his glasses with his middle finger.

The said boy lowered his gaze. "I understand. How—bad are my injuries?" he cautiously asked.

Midorima sighed. "Luckily, there were no broken bones. Your rib area, however, is heavily bruised. You have some major wound openings at your head and limbs, but," he pressed his lips together for a moment. "Your back is worse than the rest." This explained why Kuroko was not leaning against the couch for support.

"How bad?" Kuroko almost didn't want to know.

"It—looks like it was beaten with a bat."

Most of them flinched at Midorima's choice of words. For all they knew, Kuroko could have been beaten with a bat. "I see." It was the only response the shadow could give.

Murasakibara sat in the place of Akashi. He took out his uneaten chocolate bar, bit half of it, and then froze when he saw Kuroko. "Do you want some, Kuro-chin?" The tall, purple-haired player asked and held out the bitten bar.

"No-o!" Kise dived for the teal-haired boy. "That's an indirect kiss! Kurokocchi is too precious for your disgusting spit!"

"Disgusting?" Murasakibara pouted.

Aomine stepped in and yanked Kise off of Kuroko. "Oi, don't touch Tetsu!"

"Eh-h? Why not? Aominecchi," Kise whined. When the tanned teen didn't let Kise go, he received the most wide-eyed puppy look. Tōō's ace blushed.

"B-because you could hurt Tetsu!" Aomine half lied and half told the truth.

"Ooh, Mine-chin is jealous of Kuro-chin," Murasakibara, who had been politely declined of sharing the chocolate bar, announced. "Mine-chin likes Ki-chin?"

"What? Aominecchi is jealous?" Kise frowned at the now fully blushing ace. "Just because I'm your boy—"

Aomine slapped a tanned hand over Kise's mouth. "Shut up," he hissed. "Akashi can still hear—ack!"

A pair of flying scissors flew through the almost non-existent space between Kise and Aomine. It stuck itself into the wall next to them. Everybody but Kuroko and Midorima swallowed loudly.

"Is there something you're hiding from me, Ryouta? Daiki?" a deadly voice questioned. The temperature dropped.

Kise was the first to give a nervous laugh. "A-Akashicchi. We're not hiding a-anything . . . ."

"You dare lie to me?"

The blonde 'eeped' and jumped behind Aomine's large body frame. "I'm sorry, Akashicchi," Kise wailed. "It's all Aominecchi's fault!" The said teen gave Kise a dirty look and opened his mouth to protest but felt his throat close up at the sight of Akashi's face. It wasn't one you would want to see. He could literally see his life flashing before his eyes.

The red-head cleared his throat, probably getting ready to set the deadliest punishment in the world to the quivering teenagers, but was interrupted by a quiet voice. "Akashi-kun." Rakuzan's point-guard turned his attention toward the small boy. "My injuries are starting to hurt more," Kuroko confessed. "Especially my back."

Akashi frowned. "I see. I am almost done making your meal. Shintaro, apply more healing ointment and change his bandages. Do not hurt him. As for the rest of you," he glared at the eating teen, the quivering blonde, and the sweating ace. "You will all do well in keeping quiet and help Tetsuya heal. Ryouta, Daiki," he addressed both of them and heard two gulps. "Do not think I am not aware of your current relationship. However, I will tell both of your current captains to double your training menu for lying to me." He paused. "That goes for you as well, Atsushi. You and Himuro have become too affectionate."

The tallest blushed and pouted. "Aka-chin, that's not fair. I don't like practicing with my team."

Akashi's glare softened slightly at the sight of Murasakibara. Just like for Tetsuya, he had a soft spot for the 'baby of the family'. "All the more reason to train, Atsushi . . . But I will have your captain only increase your training period by a third." He ignored the gaping mouths of Ryouta and Daiki and turned around to step back into the kitchen. "Tetsuya. Thank you for being honest about your injuries. We will . . . talk later about what happened."

With nothing more to say, he walked back into the kitchen to stop the high-pitched boiling that was going off. The living room's temperature rose.

"Man," Aomine complained right away. "He's like some nagging mother."

"You're to blame," Midorima said bluntly. He had the first-aid kit out and was taking out the necessary tools to change the quiet boy's bandages. "If you hadn't lied, that would have never happened. Kuroko, I'm going to take your jacket off. Hold still so I won't hurt you."

"Hai." Kuroko obeyed.

"I didn't lie! It's Kise's fault!" The tanned ace threw a glare to his boyfriend.

"His gaze was too pressuring!" Kise defended. "I didn't want to die, but I didn't want for Akashicchi to break us up." A blush made its way onto his face.

Murasakibara had a sullen expression. "Aka-chin got mad at me and extended my training menu," he said sadly.

"At least it wasn't doubled!" Both shouted.

"Itai," Kuroko suddenly said, flinching at the sting on his back.

The green-haired teen pushed up his glasses and put down the cotton ball. "I'm sorry. I have to clean your wounds again so it won't be infected. It will sting." He picked up a new cotton ball, doused it with disinfectant, and slowly touched the large gash on the pale boy's back.

Kuroko yelped at the burn and immediately tried to get away from the disinfectant. This resulted in him losing his balance and almost falling to the floor, if it weren't for Murasakibara's strong hand to catch him. The number one shooter and defensive player helped him into a more balanced position. "S-sorry, Midorima-kun."

"It's fine. I know it stings."

"What was that sound?" Akashi's voice drifted through to the living room. Said boy entered with a tray of freshly made chicken-noodle soup, tossed salad, bread, and hot tea. The aroma made players around Kuroko drool.

"Gomen, Akashi-kun. It was me."

"Hm." Akashi looked at Midorima, who was suddenly too busy with wrapping Kuroko's chest with new bandages. "After Shintaro treats you, you will eat. And I expect everything to be gone." He narrowed his eyes sternly at the guilty boy. "Understand?"

Kuroko eyed the large meal nervously. "Everything, Akashi-kun?"

"Everything."

"Akashicchi is right," Kise volunteered. "You're too light and skinny, Kurokocchi!"

Everyone agreed to the comment.

After all his bandages were replaced, Kuroko began to eat slowly. The Generation of Miracles watched in silence for a few minutes, before Teiko's former captain spoke, "So, Tetsuya. Would you mind telling us what happened?" It wasn't a question. They all knew it was an order.

The mentioned boy shakily put down his spoon and looked down at the ground. He fidgeted with his hands. "A g-gang came onto me," Kuroko lied softly, not daring to look up to the incredulous eyes. He didn't want them to worry more about his personal life. It was so frustrating that he kept relying on people. He wanted to become more independent, more useful to his friends.

Suddenly, a hand flashed out and grabbed Kuroko's chin. His face was yanked abruptly to come a few inches from Akashi's. His blue eyes met angry hetero ones. "You will not lie to me, Tetsuya." The command was said animal-like, deep and furious. "You will not lie for the sake of others or for yourself. You will tell us the truth. And you are going to obey me without question; do you comprehend my words, Tetsuya Kuroko?" The captain stopped when he saw the onslaught of tears forming in the usually-blank blue eyes. The next statement was said softer, with more care, more gentle, "It was your mother, wasn't it?"

A heartbreaking teary nod was seen before Kuroko slammed him body against Akashi. As if by instinct, the red-head wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, one hand on the tangled locks of hair and the other around his waist. Kuroko's arms were around the captain's chest, with his face buried on the shoulder of his holder.

Loud sobs came from the fragile boy. Comforting whispers were said next to his ear as the hand on his head stroked up and down. The rest of the Generation of Miracles crowded around the two, each having their part in calming the crying boy down. Everyone threw away their worries about themselves and simply focused on Kuroko.

Because, despite what Kuroko thought, the teal-haired boy was not a shadow in their eyes. He was their light and always has been since they first met him. And now, it was their job to bring the light bright again, and heal a, once again, broken Tetsuya Kuroko.

~Setting Skip~

"Are you sure we should do this?" Kagami nervously asked.

"Of course we should!" Riko said. "We have to find out what's going on with Kuroko. And if he's really sick, we have to make him feel better, of course!"

"Well, yeah, but was it really necessary to break into the administrative office to find Kuroko's address?"

Riko smirked. "It's not called breaking into if you have a key."

"A key that you stole."

"Borrowed."

"Without permission."

The coach of Seirin's basketball team had no answer to that. "Oi, we're here," Hyuuga announced. The whole team stopped in front of a small house. They walked up the pathway and hesitated at the blue door. "Well? Aren't you going to knock, Kagami?"

"Hah?" The tall basketball player looked at Hyuuga with disbelief. "Why me?"

"Because," Hyuuga gave his deadly smile, "I'm your senpai, and first years should respect their senpais."

Kagami's eye twitched. He's only a year older than me, he indignantly thought, but knocked loudly on the door anyway. Right away, the golden doorknob turned and a tall woman emerged on the threshold. She had straight, teal hair that was styled on the right and had the same colored eyes as Kuroko. Must be his mom, Seirin's ace thought.

"What do you want?" the woman hissed.

"H-hello, ma'em," Riko bowed respectively. "We're friends of Kuroko-kun, and we were wondering if we could visit him, today?"

Immediately, the woman's expression changed from a grumpy, sour face to an overly sweet expression. "Oh? You're Tetsu's friends?" The way she said that made Kagami shiver, but he didn't know why. "Unfortunately, Tetsu ran away earlier. I can't find him anywhere! But," she gave a smirk, "Maybe you can. You know Tetsu, right? Can you please find him for me and bring him back? His father and I are so worried." There was a gleam in the woman's eyes. "I miss Tetsu-kun very much."

(A long chapter :) I wanted to add some humor into this, because it was getting so angsty, and I hate to write something that would make someone feel too depressed. Please review! Thank you!)