Betrayal In Its Most Simplest Form
Chapter 15
Akashi Hayato rubbed his eyes and groaned while resting his forehead against the desk. Ibuki was the most secretive person he had ever met. If this were a case, he'd probably announce it as the hardest one. Nothing would come up stable and new for her; nothing. It was simply false information or vague facts. His wife had managed to recover some of the abuse records, adding more dates and names of the victims and when she had committed the crime, but other than that, their six hours of researching her led to nothing.
Hayato sighed and lifted his head off the desk. He ran his hand through his signature red-hair. It's getting long, the attorney noted. Long to him but in fact, the lawyer's hair was actually still quite short, equaling the length of his son's. "I might as well send the abuse records to Seijuro," he murmured.
"Tell him to come home for the weekend," his wife ordered as she walked past his office. A small smirk was on her face. "He still has to pay for keeping Ibuki from me."
Knowing better than to defy her, he simply nodded and opened his email while dragging the documents and records into a folder. He uploaded the folder and sent it to his son, adding a small message of 'Your mother wants you home for the weekend. Do well to listen to her!' and his signature.
"Hayato." Rin strode in his office and slammed down stacks of paperwork. "Rest from the Ibuki case. You have a new case; the court trial is within a month. I already have two cases, so you take this one."
He looked at the paperwork with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't call this resting."
"Call it whatever." Rin waved her hand and turned to walk out. "I'll do all the Ibuki researching for today."
"All right," he sighed as he heard his office door close. Hayato grabbed the first stack and started to review the order, before he blinked and looked toward his door. "Hold on; did she not say she had two cases? Why would she have time to research Ibuki?"
He slapped a hand on his face and groaned, knowing he was once again tricked by his wife.
~Setting Skip~
Kuroko quietly walked out of his house and shut the door behind him. His father was still nowhere to be seen, and he didn't know if his mother was in the house or not. He was prepared to go to school fully, today. He had taken strong painkillers and re-bandaged most of his serious injuries. His bruises were most hidden, but his limp was still visible. A white patch stuck on his cheek to tend to the scratches left by the shoe.
Akashi had also helped him disinfectant the places he couldn't reach on his own, such as his back. Kuroko fought a blush from the thought of Akashi. While he had expected a kiss from their position, he was still surprised when he felt Akashi's lips against his. It had been a long but chaste kiss. Kuroko, having no experience, simply awkwardly moved his lips whenever Akashi did. The red-head had chuckled when he pulled away and, as if nothing had happened, asked if he could tend to his wounds.
Kuroko, until now, did not care for his preference for relationships. He didn't have time to worry over something so ridiculous, especially since his mother would hurt anyone who got with him. However, he could not explain the 'uncomfortable' feeling he was experiencing ever since Akashi left.
A ringtone from his phone went off, startling him from his thoughts. Kuroko started to walk [or limp] toward his school while digging for his phone in his pocket. "This is Kuroko," he answered monotonously.
"Tetsu," Aomine's gruff voice echoed through his phone.
"Aomine-kun," Kuroko said with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Is there something you need?"
"Actually, it's about what you need." Aomine sighed over the phone. "Do you need a ride to Seirin? It's a pain in the ass, but I'm close by. And it's kind of stupid and reckless for you to walk if you're injured."
Kuroko blinked, but kept walking toward his school. "Ah. That's kind of you, Aomine-kun. I am fine, though. I will walk."
"Oi, Tetsu," the tanned teenager protested. "I'm offering you a ride here. Akashi would kill me if he found out I let you walk to school alone."
"Tell Akashi-kun I do not need a ride," Kuroko said blankly.
"But—!"
"Thank you, Aomine-kun. Goodbye." He ended the call and put his phone away. Truthfully, Kuroko could use a ride since he knew walking the distance to his school would strain his injuries, but he didn't want to rely on anyone right now. If he couldn't do something as simple as walk to school, he was truly weak.
By the time he reached his homeroom classroom, the bell rang. His teacher nodded at him, obviously relieved his invisible student was fine. Kuroko limped toward his seat and slid himself down. Today, Kagami was here. The red-head turned around once Kuroko sat, and the smaller teen braced himself for the questions.
It never came though.
"Are . . . you okay?" Kagami asked awkwardly.
Kuroko blinked at him. "Hai, I am fine. I was simply in an accident, so I had to rest for a few days."
Kagami grimaced at the lie but nodded. "That's—good. I guess. I mean, that you're okay." He rested a large hand over Kuroko's teal head, trying to ignore an exposed bruise on his wrist and the bandage on his cheek. "At least tell us. Riko has been muttering the last few days about killing you."
Kuroko swatted the hand away from his head and sighed. Yes, he would have to make up the loss of practice, soon. He knew he was in no condition to practice still (Akashi would definitely find out), but the least he could was attend the practices to watch.
It was still weird, though, that Kagami wasn't asking him any frantic questions or demanding him angrily to tell him what happened the day his mother showed up during practice. If anything, he had expected Kagami to be the angriest of all.
School passed by without incident. Besides being late for almost every class because of his slow walk, Kuroko managed to get through the day without collapsing. He didn't bump into any of the Seirin basketball members, except for Kagami of course since he was in his class. He ignored Kagami's abnormal behavior and avoided people who didn't notice him.
"Stand! Bow!"
"Good work today," the students chanted.
Kuroko packed up his notes and slung his bag over his shoulder, wincing as he did so. "There's practice after school." Kagami stretched and gave a loud yawn. "You shouldn't go, though."
"No, I've missed a lot. I'll just watch."
"Are you sure?" Kagami casted a worried glance toward Kuroko.
Kuroko only stared back emotionlessly. "You're being awfully considerate, Kagami-kun."
The ace turned away, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Sh-Shut up! Is it so wrong for me to be worried?"
"Yes. It's weird. Please stop." Ever so blunt, Kuroko paid no heed to Kagami's reaction and walked slowly out the door. "Are you coming, Kagami-kun?"
His eye twitching, the tall ace walked out of the classroom to catch up with his partner. "They're going to ask questions," Kagami informed him.
"I know that. I'm surprised Kagami-kun didn't ask any."
The red-head didn't answer.
"Kuroko!"
Kuroko's name was yelled by many voices. All at once, tall basketball players rushed toward the poor teen. Hyuuga reached him first, then Teppei, then the rest of the team. Aida came in last, but she stomped through the crowd and marched toward Kuroko. A hand flashed out and grabbed both of his pale cheeks. "You damn brat." Aida twitched her left eye while a forced half smile plastered onto her face. "You freshmen think you can do whatever you want. What makes you think you can suddenly leave without an excuse?"
"Ah . . . I'm sorry," Kuroko managed to croak as his cheeks were pulled back and forth. It didn't hurt his injury on his cheek much, but it was uncomfortable.
Aida, in the mist of her torture, noticed the white patch on his cheek and two purple bruises that were supposed to be cleverly hidden with his hair. She stopped pulling his cheeks and stepped back to analyze him. "You're hurt," she said with wide eyes.
"Yes, that hurt," he rubbed his cheek that wasn't bandaged.
"No, not that. I mean those bruises. And what happened to your cheek?"
Kuroko put a hand over the bruises just above his eyebrow. They were caused from his mother's punch. Since his hair was long enough, he thought he would be able to hide it by completely covering it.
"Yeah, when you came in, I noticed you were limping," Koganei chirped.
"Wait, are those—" Hyuuga stepped up and pulled down Kuroko's loose shirt slightly to expose his shoulder and the bandages that were wrapped around his body. "Bandages? What the hell happened to you, Kuroko?"
This is bad, Kagami thought.
Kuroko shook off Hyuuga's hand and pulled up his shirt. "Please do not do stuff like that so abruptly. I was injured from a fight."
Oi, if you're going to lie, then stick with one lie. You just told me you were in an accident; Kagami eyed the teal-haired teen weirdly.
"A fight? You actually got into a fight?" The Seirin team couldn't imagine their polite, small Kuroko getting into a fight.
"Two boys were fighting. Since they didn't notice me, and I was in their way, they accidentally hit me as their target."
Everybody sweat-dropped, including Kagami. It was actually a very realistic event that could happen to the teal-haired teen. Even Kagami would believe it, if it weren't for the fact that he already knew the truth. Kuroko ignored their reactions and bowed. "I am sorry for my previous absences, but I cannot practice today. I will stay and watch."
"Well, yeah, that's fine but," Aida bit her lip and scanned Kuroko again. Those injuries looked really serious.
"Stop questioning and ogling him, guys!" Kagami finally intervened. "Don't we have practice? Are we going to play or what? We have another practice match this weekend, right?"
"I thought you would be the one who would ask most of the questions, Kagami," Hyuuga retorted. "We were all anxious to see what happened to Kuroko."
The ace scratched his head. "And he's back. Yeah, I guess I'm curious, but I'm not going to hunt him down or anything," he grumbled.
"Kuroko." Teppei's quiet yet strong voice had everyone's murmuring stop. Kuroko turned his head toward his senpai. "Are you being abused?"
Everybody's breathing stopped. Kagami froze. Kuroko only stared. The question was now exposed; the question that had been on everyone's minds (Well, the question that was answered a couple of days ago for Kagami) since Kuroko showed up with his mother. Now they feared the answer. They wished Teppei hadn't asked the question so bluntly.
They waited for the destined answer, but none came. Kuroko stayed quiet, staring blankly into Teppei's eyes. No trace of emotion could be found on his face. Kagami took that chance to step in front of Kuroko. "What kind of question is that?" Kagami demanded. "It's none of your business."
Teppei frowned for a few seconds before shrugging and giving an apologetic smile from behind Kagami's shoulder. "Sorry 'bout that, Kuroko. Forget about it."
"It's fine," came the monotone voice.
"Y-yosh!" Hyuuga shouted. "Everybody get moving! Especially you freshmen; we're having a practice match this weekend, and we're not going to lose like last time!"
Everybody shouted to agree. Just like that, the tension was broken, and Kuroko was brought to the benches to watch. While the teen didn't show it, watching Kagami and the others play basketball, Kuroko had an urgent feeling of joining. He hadn't played basketball for days, maybe a week, and the feeling of the ball being in his hands for just a few seconds was missed. Kuroko began to fidget ever so slightly.
His phone's vibrating went off, effectively stopping his fidgeting. Kuroko furrowed his eyebrows and grabbed out his cell phone. The only ones who usually ever texted him were Kagami and Akashi. Kagami was right here, and Akashi should still be in school right now. He opened his phone and checked the ID:
Otou-san
Kuroko's breath hitched at his father's caller ID. Why was he texting him? Should he even read the message?
The teal-haired boy knew it was rude to ignore a message from his father, though, and opened up the text. He read the characters slowly:
Tetsuya, I understand you are unwilling to see me or talk to me. No matter how much I apologize, my actions will probably always be on your mind. Please allow me to explain this evening. I only ask of this, Tetsuya. Your mother will not be home, and I will come home early from work.
There was an automatic signature of 'Kuroko Haru' at the bottom.
Kuroko read the message once more, this time even slower. The words wouldn't change. His blue eyes saddened at the mention of his father. He leaned forward, his hair covering his face, and closed the phone. He tossed it aside in his bag. "Otou-san . . . ."
~Setting Skip~
"Kuroko-san!" Three men waved at Kuroko Haru as they jogged toward the front of the restaurant. Kuroko's father stood there tiredly, waiting for them.
"It's been awhile," the one who reached him first said. "I'm glad you called us here."
"Yes," Haru nodded with a small smile. "But in reality, it has only been a month. It's still nice to see you, Jun-kun, Hiroshi-kun, Catherine-san."
"A month is still a long time, Kuroko-san," the blonde foreign woman that went by Catherine smiled at Haru. She had a soft, oval face with chin-length light hair. She was younger than Kuroko's father, and was extremely pretty.
Haru opened the restaurant door and gestured for them to enter. "Please just call me by my first name."
"Eh? Then you drop those honorifics, Kuroko-san," Hiroshi, an owner of a small business, smirked and raised an eyebrow at Haru.
The teal-haired man found it uncomfortable to call someone by their first name alone [that, of course, excluded Ibuki]. It was his second nature to address everybody politely. He hadn't meant to rub his overly-polite personality to Kuroko, but the teal-haired teen had picked it up since he was a child. Haru swallowed at the thought of his son.
"Leave him alone, Hiroshi," Jun, the oldest out of the three, held the door so that Haru could step inside. "We all know it's impossible for Kuroko-san to call us without honorifics."
"Table for four?" A waitress greeted them.
Haru nodded. "Please."
She bowed and gestured them with her hands. "Right this way, please."
Soon, they were all seated. Hiroshi and Jun on one side of the booth, and Catherine and Haru on the other side. They drank their tea quietly, picking out their late afternoon lunch from the menu. Haru didn't feel like eating, so he had denied a menu. What he was going to do in a few minutes ruined his appetite completely.
"So, Kuroko-san." Jun handed the menu to the waitress after ordering and flicked a glance toward the tired teal-head. "Why did you suddenly call us here?"
"Yes, it's definitely a surprise," Catherine said and drank her tea. "How is your son, by the way? I haven't seen him in so long!" Jun and Hiroshi agreed. To them, Kuroko Tetsuya was an innocent, adorable teen.
I can trust them, right? Haru thought warily. Hiroshi-kun is a small business owner, Catherine-san is a model, and Jun-kun is a newspaper reporter. They should not be influenced by Ibuki. Still, the man was still cautious of his long-time colleagues. He had to trust someone, though, and these people were the closest ones he knew. "Ah, that's actually why I called you here."
"Why you called us here?" Hiroshi leaned forward and rested his chin on his palm. "You called us over because of your son?"
Haru pressed his lips together tightly, finding this harder than he imagined. He looked down at the table and clenched his hands in his lap. "You know of my wife, yes?" he whispered.
Miraculously, everybody could hear his soft voice. "Ibuki? Yeah, we've her once," Hiroshi snarled. "Ugly woman. I don't know why you married her."
I wonder that myself, Haru thought. The times before Tetsuya was born . . . were they truly happy times? "And it is strange you have not seen my son for years, is it not?" Haru went on with his soft voice.
Jun made one eye bigger than the other. "Yeah, we've found it strange, but it's not something that was really questioned."
"That's because . . . Tetsuya is—abused," Haru choked out. The words left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Catherine stopped drinking her tea. Hiroshi snapped his face up to Haru. Jun froze. "What—what did you just say, Kuroko-san?" Catherine managed to ask. "That's a bad joke."
"No," the teal-haired man softly said. "It is true."
"Hold on." Hiroshi snapped out of his trance. "Are you trying to tell us your son, Tetsu-kun, is being abused? By who?"
Haru turned his head to the side. "By Ibuki."
Jun-kun sucked in his breath. The grip on his teacup tightened. "Your wife?"
"Yes . . ."
"H-how long?" Catherine asked.
Haru put a hand over his face. "Since Tetsuya was four."
"Four?" Hiroshi asked quietly. "You mean Tetsu-kun was—no, still is—abused for twelve years? And you're still with that woman?"
"Hai." They could barely hear Haru's answer.
The teal-haired man didn't see it coming, or maybe he did but he wasn't expecting it so suddenly. There was a shout of 'no, Hiroshi!' before his shirt was suddenly pulled, forcing Haru to stand from his seat. "You son of—" A strong punch connected to his cheek. Immediate pain bloomed on Haru's face as he was sent to the floor. He became a sprawling heap on the cold, tiled floor with a swollen inflicted cheek. Haru's hands came up to the hurt area. Yes, please, he pleaded in his mind, Hurt me. I deserve it.
"How dare you?" Hiroshi snarled. He was standing in front of Haru, his knuckles on his right hand red. "You let that ugly bitch abuse Tetsu-kun for so long? And you're still married to her? What the hell are you thinking? Divorce that whore and take Tetsu-kun away!"
Haru didn't answer. He only struggled to get up, one hand on his cheek, the other on the floor. The man managed to sit up on his knees, but he made no move to get up fully. After all, if Hiroshi was going to hit him again, he might as well stay on the floor and take it. His son took it almost every day.
"A-ano, p-please refrain from using such language and violence i-inside the building. Any more disturbances, we'll have to ask you to l-leave the building." The waitress' stuttering and nervous voice appeared above him. Haru, ashamed, did not look up.
"We are extremely sorry." Jun scrambled out of the booth to bow. "There will be no more disturbances."
"Kuroko-san." Catherine's soothing voice echoed next to his ear. "Stand up. Hiroshi was just acting stupid. Right, Hiroshi?" There was an edge of warning to the question.
Hiroshi rubbed the back of his neck, frustrated. "Yeah . . . Sorry, Kuroko-san. My body moved before I was thinking." He held out a hand for the teal-head, to which Haru took gratefully and pulled himself up. "I'm sure you have your reasons."
"Yes," Catherine nodded. "You're not the type to keep Tetsu-kun in such a home without good reason."
Jun, Hiroshi, and Catherine were seated in their original spots, again, with Haru sitting on the edge, icing his cheek with a cold water bottle Catherine had brought. The food came, the waitress setting it down quickly before scurrying off. Hiroshi grinned sheepishly at the glares Catherine and Jun were giving him.
Jun was the first to speak after taking a bite of his lunch. "So, Kuroko-san." The adult Kuroko looked up to his colleague. "Why are you not divorcing Ibuki or reporting this to the police? You do have evidence, right?"
"Having a picture or two and showing it directly to the police wouldn't help," Haru informed them. "You do know Ibuki is extremely powerful."
"Yeah, but breaking the laws should be held accountable to her," Hiroshi countered.
He shook his head. "Ibuki is the most influential person in Japan. Attacking her from the outside is useless." Haru put his head in his hands. "If I were to divorce her, she would only get custody of Tetsuya, and that would make things worse. And if she were charged for abuse, she would only be bailed out. Her connections run deeper than the government."
"But, you can't just leave Tetsu-kun like that," Catherine said. The three thought of the small boy they had seen four years ago: polite, sweet, and respectful. They had been invited to Kuroko's basketball game in Teiko, around the time he got accepted into the first string. Everyone had been awed at how different he looked while playing basketball than outside the court.
"I know," Haru said, "which is why I'm planning to attack from the inside."
"The inside . . .?" Jun raised an eyebrow.
"Hai. Ibuki holds many secrets the government does not know or keeps. A friend of Tetsuya's, Akashi Seijuro, is currently helping me."
Hiroshi whistled. "Akashi, eh? You actually got the Akashi family on your side? Well, shit, you actually have a chance."
"Mind your language." Jun flicked his head.
"The reason why I called you all here . . . was this." Haru pulled something out of his small bag and placed it on the table. There were nine photographs, three for each. Catherine leaned forward first and examined the pictures.
A horrified gasp came from her. "These are-!"
"Photographs of the abuse," Jun finished grimly.
The pictures were simply indescribable. They were horrific, clear pictures of Ibuki and Kuroko, the latter on the floor protecting himself with his arms. Haru had been standing at an angle where he caught both Ibuki's and Kuroko's face. Two of the three pictures were of Ibuki using her feet. The last one was a direct shot with her fist to Kuroko's eye. Each one was hard to look at, and Catherine had tears in her eyes from the pain she could see in Kuroko's face. The expression Kuroko had in the third picture however, had all of them set the photo down and look anywhere but the picture. Unlike the first two pictures, Kuroko had no expression in the last. It was blank; emotionless; nothing could be seen from his face. The punch to his eye caused no expression on his face. It was nothing.
"I need you to tell about Kuroko Ibuki with these pictures to anyone you trust," Haru said faintly. "To the people who are not influenced by Ibuki. We need as much people on our side. Please," he looked down in his lap. "This is the last time I ask of you for something."
"These pictures, Kuroko-san," Hiroshi breathed. "They were taken during the abuse. Does that mean . . .?"
Haru swallowed and didn't answer. Jun sucked in his breath. "You took these pictures. During all this, you watched and took pictures."
He still didn't answer. "W-what of Tetsu-kun?" Catherine was afraid to ask, but she needed to know.
Again, Haru didn't answer. The blonde woman gasped. "Don't—don't tell me Tetsu-kun blames you?"
"I had to," Haru finally choked. "I had to . . . I didn't have a choice, I had to." He looked at the table now, dazed and shaken. "I-had to. You understand, right? I had to." The flashbacks of watching his own son being beaten while he stood a few feet away, doing nothing, haunted his mind. His son's blank face as he told him to not to touch had made Haru break down that night. It was scarring, something that would never be rid of in his mind, even if his son did forgive him.
Two arms encircled around Haru, and his nose was suddenly pressed against a warm shoulder. Blonde hair swept against his forehead. "That's horrible," Catherine said, aghast. "Watching—your own son be abused, taking pictures to help . . . then to be blamed." Strong, woman-like hands pressed against his back. "I'm so sorry."
Haru shook his head slowly. "I had to." His voice cracked, and small water droplets slid down his pale cheeks. "I had to . . . I had to get her at her worst, so I taunted her—encouraged her. I had to be on her good side. I had to," he cried and gripped Catherine's shirt. "But I understand Tetsuya's hatred; it's no less than what I deserve. But his face that day—his face—" Haru could no longer speak coherently. He cried soft, silent tears, never the loud, snotty sobs.
He could faintly hear Hiroshi call for the bill. The waitress came, trying to pay no mind to Haru, and set down the bill before quickly running back to her post.
"Don't worry, Kuroko-san," Jun soothingly said. "We'll do it. I have many connections as a newspaper reporter. As for your son . . . you should straighten things out right away." He rested his chin on his palm and looked out the window. "I've met Tetsu-kun enough to know he's the most respectful and bright kid I know. He will understand."
I know, Haru thought silently through his tears. I know.
~Setting Skip~
"M-Ma'em!" Two men burst through her door and rushed up to her desk. "An emergency, Abe-san!"
"What is it?" Ibuki asked coldly, irritated by the intrusion.
"Your files has been looked through, ma'em," one of them said quickly. "Your personal files, along with government files. Some of the files had attempts for access, but the files denied it. However, some, such as your criminal and identity files were accessed halfway."
Ibuki narrowed her eyes. "They were accessed? Halfway?" By who? She knew the police wouldn't dare touch her files, and only the police could access her files since they knew the code. She was also aware anyone who was against her knew it'd be stupid to blatantly report her to the police.
It had to be someone else, someone who had deep connections, just like her. "Did you manage to track down where it was accessed?"
"No, it was from a private line," he said, but then hesitated. "Actually, we managed to get the letters 'AKH' when we tried to track it. That's all, though."
AKH? Ibuki furrowed her eyebrows and tapped her fingers. A code? No, an initial. AKH . . Aka . . Akashi Hayato. The teal-haired woman widened her eyes and stood from her desk. "That damn brat!" she hissed out loud. Not only had the stupid Akashi kid investigated her, but he had also gotten his family involved too? The kid didn't learn his lesson, even after she destroyed that Kise family! Did she have to attack the Akashi family to get him to understand no one defied her?
"Get out of here," she snarled at the two frightened men. "Relock all my files and set different paths of security on them. If anyone else is able to access them after today, you two will lose your jobs."
"Y-yes, ma'em!" the two stuttered and rushed out of the room.
Ibuki sneered, whipped out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Time to pay the government a call."
~Setting Skip~
"I'm home," Kuroko called, knowing it was useless. His father's car was not out in the driveway, and from his father's text, his mother shouldn't be home, yet.
He gently set down his bag and limped to the kitchen. If Otou-san wishes to speak to me in the evening, I should try to cook something. It was, after all, something he should do, even if his trust in his father was gone. Though Kuroko couldn't really cook anything in his condition, and even if he wasn't injured, he could only cook boiled eggs.
Boiled eggs sounded all right, anyway, so Kuroko carefully pulled out the pot, wincing as his body vibrated in pain. He was filling up the small pot with water when the phone in his bag rang loudly. A little startled, Kuroko set down the pot and walked over to end the ringing. Akashi flashed on his phone.
"Akashi-kun," he said, but then stopped when he sounded a little too happy than he should be.
"Tetsuya," Akashi greeted coolly. "Did you go to school today?"
"Hai," Kuroko confirmed while limping over to continue to fill water in the pot.
"I see," Akashi paused for a bit before continuing, "Tetsuya, why did you deny Daiki's offer this morning?"
The teal-haired teen almost dropped an egg at the question. He scrunched his blue eyebrows together. "Ah . . ."
"You should not have refused," his former captain said strictly. "That was reckless of you. Your school is only about 800 meters away from your house, but with your condition, you should not have been walking that far. Daiki was right to offer you a ride. He does have a permit."
Kuroko couldn't argue with Akashi's tone. He only dropped the four eggs in the pot and lowered his head, as if the red-head was right next to him. "I'm sorry, Akashi-kun," Kuroko apologized. "It won't happen again."
"Hm," Akashi replied tersely. "It shouldn't happen again."
The first talk with Akashi-kun after the . . . kiss, Kuroko almost blushed, and I get scolded.
"Tetsuya?"
"Hai?" Kuroko turned up the temperature of the stove.
"Just wait a little longer, all right?" Akashi suddenly murmured. "I will get you out of that house."
Kuroko's lips twitched into a small smile. "Hai. I will wait, Akashi-kun."
"Very well. Daiki will pick you up tomorrow morning. If he's not there, call Ryouta."
Kuroko knew Akashi was about to hang up, since the red-head was never one to say 'good-bye' before ending the call, so before he did, the teal-head blurted, "Wait, Akashi-kun!"
". . Yes, Tetsuya?"
"Thank you," Kuroko said quietly. "And—I—enjoyed it." What 'it' was didn't need to be defined between the two.
Akashi chuckled. "I know."
I said I would update faster, right? :) Well, I started writing this chapter RIGHT after I posted chapter 14, so I had some time to edit. Nevertheless, there could be some typo or grammatical issue I couldn't catch, so please tell me so I can fix it ;]
Reviews do really motivate me, so thank you to all my faithful fans. I am so very grateful to you!
Oh! That's right. So, whenever I'm suddenly not updating quickly (which means I haven't posted in a week or so), check my profile and there will most likely be a note under the stories section of my profile. It will explain my absence :)
~Virelei