Betrayal In Its Most Simplest Form
Chapter 18
Akashi looked at his watch and interally sighed. It was already almost noon. He grabbed the loose tie he wore and retied it before tightening it. Once again in a button-down shirt (this time black) and red tie, he stood in front of his family's house. For some reason, the red-head was hesitating to ring the intercom.
Yes, Akashi Seijuro was hesitating.
"I am quite busy today," he said aloud and looked at his watch, again. "I did plan to take Tetsuya—"
"Seijuro, I know you're out there. If you don't get your ass in this house in fifteen seconds, I'll stop paying for your home and kick you out onto the streets!" The intercom suddenly blared of a woman's snarling voice. Akashi blinked coolly, startled but it didn't show. There were only two people who could talk to and threaten him like that and be alive: his father and mother.
As expected of Mother, Akashi thought and walked in as the gates to the large house opened. The front door unlocked just as his polished, black shoes hit the steps. Akashi Hayato appeared at the threshold, his face tired and wary.
"Your mother is in the family room," he said, exhausted. "She is waiting."
"Hm." Akashi stepped inside his childhood home and took off his jacket to hang. "I received your email."
Hayato ran a hand through his hair. "Of course you did. It is the only reason why you came here, is it not?"
"That, among others," Akashi retorted. "Is Mother . . . well?"
"More or less," he said tersely. Hayato reached a hand and turned his son around by the shoulder to inspect him. He didn't know why Akashi was so short, while Hayato and Rin were tall, and he desperately hoped his son would soon receive a growth spurt, soon. "Your hair is getting long."
"It is not," Akashi said and stepped out of his hold. "I'd rather keep it like this." He turned around before his father could respond and started walking toward the family room, where his mother waited. His footsteps echoed softly in the large, lit hall. He turned and—rather slowly—set his foot in the desired room.
His mother's red hair was first visible before her whole body was when he kept walking inside. Akashi Rin sat on the luxurious couch with her legs crossed, one arm over her stomach, and the other holding a cup of tea to her lips. Her strange-colored eyes flickered toward Akashi as she drank calmly.
"Seijuro," she greeted as she sat the tea down.
"Mother," Akashi said in return. All Akashi's were awkwardly formal. "I am home."
"How convenient to call this house 'home'," Hayato said behind him, also stepping inside the room. "Sit, Seijuro."
All of them sat, and soon, they formed a triangle in the room. Akashi sat on the recliner at Rin's left, and Hayato sat on the other couch on Rin's right. Tea was served for Akashi, and the family sat in an 'awkward' silence, every one of them drinking their tea quietly and eating on the provided snacks. The red-haired teen sat back and crossed his legs. He stared at his mother with an expectant expression,
"You asked for me, Mother?"
Rin set down her tea rather calmly before running a hand through her red hair. "I did, Seijuro." Her cool tone had Hayato give a glance of pity at his son. "How is your friend, these days? His name is—ah, if I can recall, Kuroko Tetsuya?"
Akashi tensed internally on the inside. His mother did know, after all. "He is well," he said smoothly. "There is nothing particular to say about him."
"Oh? Nothing?" Rin's voice started to take an edgy tone. "Not even about this hidden abuse from his mother that lasted all the way through middle school without my awareness?"
Hayato sucked in his breath, "Rin—"
"I really do not know—" Something fast and dangerous flew just above Akashi's scalp and landed into the wall behind him. Used to this all his life, Akashi simply stopped talking and stared at his mother with burning hetero-colored eyes. Behind him, a butter knife embedded itself into the once-undamaged wall.
"Is my son lying to me?" Rin purred.
"I was not done talking," Akashi said coldly.
"No need," Rin snapped. She stood up abruptly and strode toward her son, who was watching her with a cool and blank face. The red-haired woman loomed over Akashi, their height difference even more distinct since the teen was sitting. "How come you did not inform me Kuroko Tetsuya was a victim of abuse by Ibuki?"
Akashi looked at Rin's branded pants' pocket and noticed an extra butter knife stuck out slightly, glinting anonymously in the light. He looked up to his mother's face again, and coolly replied, "I saw no emergency in informing you at that moment. I made Father aware of it now, so does it matter?"
Rin's left eye twitched, and she wrung her hands as if she was choking Akashi. "You are such a brat," she hissed.
"You usually mention he can't be a brat," Hayato chirped. "Since you raised him, after all."
"Don't put words back into my mouth." Rin leaned in close so that her son's face was close to her's. "Tell me; is it fun lying to me?"
"Mother, I did not—"
Rin turned her head away and pretended not to listen. "You lied to me! Omitted the truth! It's the same as lying!"
Akashi sighed and put a hand over his eyes. Once his mother was like this, words could not explain anything to her. Rin saw the sigh though, and an angry, yet fake smile appeared onto her face slowly.
Hayato, seeing his son's life in danger, spoke loudly to interrupt the two, "Seijuro, your mother—although exaggerated—is quite right. Telling us of Ibuki during your middle school years could have helped some in destroying her."
The teen glanced at his father, then to his mother, then back to his father. One of the many reasons why I live seperately. "Then I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or disrespect I showed."
From the bland, cold tone, both parents knew Akashi didn't mean the useless apology.
"An apology won't be enough!" Rin declared. "As punishment, you will bring Kuroko Tetsuya here so Hayato and I can meet him!"
. . . . Hayato coughed.
. . . . Rin raised an eyebrow.
. . . . Akashi looked to the side.
They froze in their positions for a long time, with Akashi mulling over the idea, Rin ready to kill her son if he refused, and Hayato ready to pull Akashi out of harm's way before he had to attend his funeral.
Akashi opened his mouth, "I refu—"
A butter knife whizzed through the air, the dull, metal part scraping against Akashi's cheek before embedding itself right under the the previously thrown knife. Hayato held his breath at the seething Rin. "You were saying, Seijuro?"
The red-haired teen looked at his mother with a fearless glance and pulled out his cellphone. On the inside, however, he was still getting over the fact he was alive from his mother's attack.
~Setting Skip~
Kuroko's ringtone had the teal-haired teen awake in his bed. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked before reaching for his phone, wincing at his sore muscles. Haru had insisted him to take more naps during the day so that his body could heal quicker. The one thing Kuroko didn't want from the naps, though, was his horrible case of bed-head.
"It's Akashi-kun," he mumbled as he sleepily read the caller ID. He flipped open the phone and pressed the answer button. "Akashi-kun . . ."
"Were you asleep, Tetsuya?" Akashi's voice woke up the teen some more.
"Ah, yes, but it is fine." Kuroko pushed himself up weakly and leaned his back against his headboard. "Do you need something, Akashi-kun?"
"Hm," Akashi said. "I'm aware it is last minute, but I have already prepared a ride for you. Get dressed properly."
"A ride? Are we going somewhere, Akashi-kun?"
Kuroko threw his blankets off of himself and tried to stand up from the bed. Dizziness got the better of him, however, and he had to hold onto a table to balance himself. He took a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His teal hair, as expected, was a bird's nest. Some strands he wondered how they were even positioned the way it was.
"You are," Akashi answered. "You will be going to my house in Kyoto. You are going to meet my mother and father."
Kuroko stood in stunned silence. The words Akashi spoke seemed to be unable to be processed through his head. Mother? Father? Akashi's? The thought of it scared the teal-head. "A-ah, I don't think that's a good idea."
"You're coming, Tetsuya," Akashi ordered, but he softened his voice to reassure the teen, "Do not worry. My parents will not harm you."
Kuroko could hear a woman's voice in the background: "Harm? Him? Seijuro, what have you been telling him about us?"
Akashi seemed to ignore her because Kuroko didn't hear his response. "I already have a ride waiting to take you to the train station. When you get off at Kyoto, there will be another driver there. You will not walk under any circumstances, do you understand?"
"Hai. . ."
"Dress appropriately. I will be waiting." Akashi hung up.
Kuroko looked at his cell phone with a small frown before he set it on the desk beside him. It was last minute and unexpected, but if Akashi asked him to come visit, he would do it.
The problem was he didn't have any formal clothes to wear. His mother rarely took him out for 'special occasions', so Kuroko found no need to look for 'appropriate clothing'. The nicest shirt I have is washing, Kuroko thought. Will Otou-san have an old one?
"Otou-san?" the teen called out softly as he exited his room. He didn't know whether or not his father was still in the house.
"In here," Haru replied. It came from the small office. Kuroko padded across the hallway and entered the stuffy, make-shift office halfway. His father was sitting on a rolling chair, and he turned to glance at Kuroko. He tried hard not to look at his son's hair. "Did you have a good nap? Do you need something?"
"Hai, I did," Kuroko answered the first question. "And . . . ano, Otou-san, do you own an old, formal shirt?"
Haru raised an eyebrow. "An old, formal shirt? Why?"
Kuroko hesitated, "I am going to visit Akashi-kun in Kyoto."
"You need a formal shirt for that?"
He looked down to his bare feet and flexed his hands. "I will be meeting his parents," Kuroko said softly.
Haru processed the information and pursed his lips. "Ah, I see." He stood up to stretch before pointing over to the small, worn out sofa against the wall. "Sit there. I'll see if I have one that fits."
"Thank you, Otou-san." Kuroko limped over to the couch and sat down stiffly onto the cushions. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, watching as his father search through his closet of clothes.
Their house only had three rooms; Kuroko's bedroom, the master bedroom, and then a small, stuffy room that only had a small window. Since Haru and Ibuki don't share the same room, Haru slept in the tiny room and worked in it as a make-shift office. Naturally, most of his clothes would be here.
"I have a lot, but due to your size, I don't think any of them would fit," Haru informed him. "Let's try this one . . ."
He crossed the room with a mere three strides and knelt down in front of his son. "Arms up," he ordered.
Kuroko frowned. "I can do it myself, Otou-san."
"The last time you tried to change alone, you injured yourself, again. Arms up."
Seeing that he couldn't disobey, the teen sighed and held up his arms. Haru gently took off his shirt, aware of the mending ribs and sore bruises. He studied the bandages that wrapped around his son's body, which helped Kuroko breath by keeping his back straight and the bones in line. "Are your bandages too tight?" Kuroko denied it. "All right, slide your arms through the sleeves."
Soon, Kuroko had the oversized blue button-down shirt on. Haru stood, analyzed his son, and burst out laughing. Kuroko, confused at Haru's laughter, stood and moved in front of a mirror to check if there was anything weird. He furrowed his eyebrows when his image appeared on the glass.
Along with the birds' nest hair, Kuroko was now wearing an extremely baggy shirt. The sleeves went passed his hands and hung from his wrists. The hem of the shirt reached the middle of his thighs. Even though it was buttoned, it slipped off of his shoulders and hung by his arm.
"Otou-san," Kuroko protested. "I cannot wear this in front of Akashi-kun. It is too big."
Haru chuckled. "That shirt is from my college days, too. You need to grow, Tetsu." Kuroko gave him a blank expression. His father sighed and looked through his pile of clothes once again. "It's not as formal, but I think it is appropriate." He picked out a white long-sleeve shirt with a collar and a navy blue vest, along with dark jeans. "The jeans might not fit you perfectly, but we can roll them up."
After several minutes, Kuroko wore the complete set of clothes. The sleeves were still a little too long, but his father was able to fold them neatly. His jeans were also rolled up, but that would be hidden with his shoes. The vest fit him almost perfectly. It was a little loose, but it wasn't anything major.
"This is better," Haru decided. "However, you need to do something about your hair."
Kuroko touched his hair with a distraught expression. "I don't have any time to fix it."
"In that case," Haru walked over and grabbed a black beanie from his desk. "You'll have to wear this. It's cold, anyway. Akashi-kun would expect you to wear something warm, would he not?"
"Hai," came Kuroko's quiet response.
Gently, Haru fit the beanie over his son's head, effectively covering the crazy bed-head hair. The beanie contrasted well with Kuroko's pale skin. "All right, you're set now. Do you need a ride to Akashi-kun's house?"
"No, Akashi-kun has provided a ride for me," Kuroko declined politely. "Thank you, Otou-san."
Haru bent down and laid a kiss on Kuroko's forehead. "Be careful. It's cold, so bring a jacket. Come back before eight, okay? Your mother will be home at nine, so it is better for you to come home first."
"I will," Kuroko said obediently. "Does Otou-san want me to get something from Kyoto?"
"No, I am fine," Haru smiled. "Akashi-kun might get impatient. You better hurry before you miss the train."
"Hai. I will be going!" Kuroko left the office and started down the stairs. He made sure to grab his coat from the kitchen chair before leaving the house surreptitiously, the door shutting behind him with a click. Immediately, cold, Tokyo air bit his cheeks and swarmed around his frail body. Kuroko shivered and put on his coat. Otou-san's right. It is cold.
"Ano . . . excuse me, are you Kuroko-san?"
An unknown voice had Kuroko snap up his head to meet dark, brown eyes. A young man was looming over the small teen. The man had a standard suit on, as well as black, leather gloves that enclosed around his fingers. He had a small smile on his face.
"I am sorry, but do I know you?" Kuroko asked politely.
"Ah, so you are Kuroko-san." The man stepped back and bowed. "I am Takanaga Kouta. Akashi-san has sent me here to pick you up."
Kuroko, startled, bowed as well. "Akashi-kun sent you?"
"I live close by, and since I owe the Akashi family a favor, it's the least I could do for their son," Kouta smiled and gestured behind him. "Shall we go? The station isn't far, but the train leaves in about half an hour."
The teen nodded, not used to being picked up in such a manner, and only followed the man silently to the worn-down looking car. He climbed into the back seat while Kouta fell into the driver's. "Down to the train station we go!"
True enough, the ride to the station was short. Kouta gave him the pre-purchased ticket to Kyoto, to which Kuroko thanked for, and then warned the teen there would be a woman who would be picking him up at Kyoto. Kuroko, memorizing the information, nodded, and entered the train station. Having gone up and down to Kyoto many times for his mother's 'errands', Kuroko was familiar where to go and what train to take.
"The doors are closing. Please stand clear of the doors."
Kuroko stumbled to an empty seat next to a window. It was a little crowded, so he was lucky to have found a window seat, isolated from the crowd. Nobody noticed him, anyway, so being isolated from a crowd was easy. The teal-head rested his head against the cool window and sighed.
Akashi-kun's parents . . . Will they be just like Akashi-kun?
He had only met Akashi's mother once, and it was only for a brief moment of time. From that brief moment of time, Kuroko could gather that the woman was extremely smart and that Akashi had received most of his traits from her. Other than that, he knew nothing of his former captain's parents.
Do they know of Akashi-kun's and my . . . relationship? Kuroko almost blushed at the thought of it.
The train stopped all too soon, and Kuroko was forced to exit the train. It took both the woman picking him up and Kuroko awhile to find each other. With the woman unable to notice Kuroko's presence, and Kuroko unable to look over the tall people, it was almost impossible to spot each other. It wasn't until they literally bumped into each other that they were able to find one another.
"I am terribly sorry," the woman apologized once again as they drove up to the front gate. The gates opened automatically, probably because someone knew they were coming. Though she obviously didn't drive her car through the gates. She stopped right out front. "I hope I wasn't such an inconvenience to you."
"It is fine," Kuroko bowed his head. "It is my fault as well. Thank you for the ride."
"The Akashi family will greet you at the entrance. Just walk up that path and knock on the door."
"Hai. Thank you very much." Kuroko ducked his head to get out of the car and closed the door behind him. The car revved up as soon as he closed the door. He was left alone staring at the large house before him. "Akashi-kun is rich . . ."
"Is he coming soon?" Rin asked impatiently.
Akashi looked at his watch. "He should be here."
His mother scoffed and glanced at Akashi with the corner of her eye. "Your tie!" Rin turned to face Akashi. "It's not tight enough." She reached for his red tie and deliberately tightened it to the extreme. Rin even gave it some extra tugs just for her satisfaction. Akashi showed no emotion that indicated he was choking.
"You are choking me, Mother. I can hardly breathe," was all he said.
"Good. You deserve it."
Hayato rolled his eyes. When his wife turned around, he discreetly loosened his son's tie and raised an eyebrow when Akashi gave him a blank stare. His son was never one to thank someone bluntly. "What kind of tea does Kuroko Tetsuya like?" Rin demanded.
Akashi took a moment to think about it. "Uji green tea," he responded. Rin quickly told this information to one of the servants. "He will try to eat or drink something unhealthy. He is still healing, though, so refuse any attempts."
The red-head woman sniffed. "You're so uptight, Seijuro."
Did Mother just call me 'uptight'?
A faint knock had the three Akashi's turn their heads toward the door. Immediately, Akashi and Rin walked briskly to the front. "Seijuro, step back. I will open the door," Rin said sharply.
"Mother, you will scare him. I will open the door."
"I will!"
"I will."
"Seijuro, step back!"
"That is something I cannot do."
In the end, Hayato opened the door while mother and son 'calmly' and 'formally' argued. The door swung open, and Kuroko appeared on the porch steps, his skin paler than it should be. Hayato regarded his outfit in approval and gave a smile to the teen. "Hello. You must be Kuroko Tetsuya."
Kuroko bowed deeply. "D-domo. Hai, I am Kuroko Tetsuya. It's an honor to meet you, Akashi-san." The teal-head took a 'wild' guess the man was Akashi's father. It actually wasn't hard to figure out, with the red-hair and eyes.
Hayato smirked, and a chuckle escaped his lips. "Seijuro and Rin were right; you are overly-polite." He put a hand on the boy's shoulder, but frowned when Kuroko gave a natural flinch. Ibuki has done a ton to him. "Raise your head. I do not know what Seijuro told you, but I am not scary," he scratched his head. "Much."
"Saying that makes you quite frightening, Father." Akashi's voice appeared behind Hayato, and Kuroko's eyes dully lit at the sound. "And I said no such thing about you. In fact, I have never mentioned you."
The red-head teen stepped out to be in Kuroko's line of vision. He had his trademark smirk on, and he reached a hand to touch Kuroko's left shoulder. Hayato noted the teen didn't flinch when Akashi touched him. "Tetsuya, how was your trip here?"
"It was fine," Kuroko said quietly. "I am glad I can see Akashi-kun."
"Hm."
"Seijuro, let me take a look at him." Another voice, this time feminine, had Kuroko on his senses. A tall-ish, red-haired woman walked through father and son and stopped right in front of the teen. She bent her body to inspect him closely. "Hm . . ."
"Nice to meet you," Kuroko said blandly and bowed. "Akashi-san."
It was silent. Too silent for too long that Kuroko thought he had said something wrong. When he prepared to apologize, though, two warm hands set upon his cold cheeks and lifted his head. Kuroko was met with colored eyes. "Tetsuya," Rin rolled the name off her tongue. "You are very cute."
Akashi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Hayato only put a palm over his face.
Kuroko blinked. "Thank you."
"And so polite," Rin fawned. "You are simply what I imagined you to be. I've only met you once before, and yet you haven't changed at all."
"Thank you . . ."
"Enough, Mother." Akashi gently took Kuroko out of his mother's hold. "You do not usually praise people like such."
Rin crossed her arms. "That's because I don't have a son that obeys me."
Akashi pretended he didn't hear that and turned his attention toward Kuroko. He touched the beanie he wore. "Were you so cold you had to wear this, Tetsuya?" He fingered the beanie with a frown. It covered most of Kuroko's hair, and Akashi did not like that.
"No," Kuroko said. "Since Akashi-kun woke me up from a nap, my hair was not neat. I didn't have time to fix it." Ah, yes, the red-head remembered the atrocious bed-heads Kuroko would receive every morning during their Teiko summer training camps. It wouldn't do well to come to his parents' with hair like that.
"Come inside, Tetsuya," Hayato said. "We have been waiting for you."
"I hope I have not kept you waiting for too long," Kuroko said as he took off his shoes in the house. He didn't bother with his jacket, since he was still cold.
"You did not," Rin intercepted. "There's tea waiting in the room. Do you have any particular likes on snacks?"
Kuroko stole a quick glance at Akashi, wondering if it'd be okay to request something. He looked back at Rin when he saw no reaction from the red-haired teen. "Would it be okay to have a vanill—"
"Do not even try it, Tetsuya," Akashi ordered. Kuroko glumly shut his mouth. Hayato struggled from smiling.
They settled in the family room once again. Rin in the recliner this time, Hayato on the same couch he had been on, and Akashi and Kuroko next to each other on the other couch. Kuroko reluctantly snacked on some cold soybeans, at Akashi's command. Hayato watched and analyzed the relationship between the two.
"Tetsuya," Rin called. Kuroko turned his attention to her. "You attended the same middle school as Seijuro, correct? You were on the basketball team?"
"Hai," Kuroko confirmed.
"Do you enjoy playing with Seijuro?"
The teal-haired teen felt uncomfortable at the attention the Akashi family were giving him, but he answered quietly anyway, "Hai, I did."
Rin ran a hand through her hair. "Then tell me, why did you not attend Rakuzan with Seijuro? Why did you enroll to Seirin, an unknown school with a poor basketball team, when Rakuzan excels in both academics and sports?"
"Mother," Akashi warned.
Kuroko bowed his head. The red-heads watched as he clutched his lap and shadowed his face by ducking down. Akashi put a hand over his teal-head. "It is certainly true," Kuroko breathed, "that I had fun playing with Akashi-kun and everyone else. H-however . . . I did not wish to follow Akashi-kun to Rakuzan. I . . . relied on the Teiko team too much, and Akashi-kun and everybody else were leaving me behind. I wanted to get stronger—to surpass Akashi-kun." He took a small breath from talking too much. "Seirin is not bad, either. I have many reliable teammates there."
Akashi resisted from rolling his eyes. "Foolish," he stated, putting a finger under Kuroko's chin to lift up his head. "I always win, so I am always right. I doubt you will beat me under any circumstances."
Kuroko looked into the hetero-colored eyes, determined. "Maybe not in basketball, yet, Akashi-kun, but I do know that I can drink more vanilla shakes than you."
"That has nothing to do—"
"Stop it with the PDA," Rin snapped. "It hurts my eyes."
"You were the one who questioned him, Mother," Akashi said, releasing Kuroko's chin. "Are you satisfied?"
"No."
Hayato gave Rin a dry look while Akashi ignored his mother. "Now that you have met Tetsuya, I will proceed with my business in being here."
"And what is your business, Seijuro?" It was Hayato who spoke this time. The father was already tired from the banter of Akashi and Rin, so he wanted to get straight to the point before Rin interrupted.
"Kuroko Ibuki."
The name had Kuroko tense. Akashi pulled the teen closer, so that their shoulders were touching. Kuroko discreetly grabbed onto the edge of Akashi's shirt. "We are ready. The preparations are finished."
Rin inched up her perfectly arched eyebrows and delicately steepled her fingers. "Oh? You have enough evidence?"
"I do. I have managed to figure it out." Akashi smirked. "It's nearing the end."
Kuroko, lost, straightened and asked, "What are you talking about, Akashi-kun?" He let out a small yawn, but quickly closed his mouth and rubbed one of his eyes.
"Ibuki," the red-head repeated. "Your mother—her secrets have been revealed." He stretched his fingers and flexed his hands. "The time to get you out of that house is coming."
"Are you sure, Seijuro?" Hayato demanded. "There are no mistakes in the law industry. You have flawless evidence and witnesses? There are no assumptions? Everything has to be concrete."
Red and yellow eyes met mixed colored ones. Akashi nodded slightly to his father. "Everything is concrete. I am betting everything on this one."
"Don't . . . bet everything . . Akashi-kun," Kuroko rubbed his eyes, realizing sleep was getting the better of him. "It's. . good everything . . is set. Very . . goo . . d." The teal-haired teen couldn't fight it off any longer. His head slowly fell onto Akashi's lap. He fell asleep as soon as his ear touched the warm lap of his partner's.
All three Akashi's looked at the sleeping boy with disbelief. One moment the boy was awake, and the next he was asleep on the teen's legs. Akashi recovered first, and he fought to keep a smile off his face. Putting a hand over Kuroko's head, he spoke quietly as to not wake up the small sixteen-year-old, "His body is still healing. We interrupted his sleep. His beatings from his mother are not light, so he is still in a fragile state."
"I understand," Hayato observed the sleeping boy with an expression of surprise. "And Seijuro, I don't especially care what gender you prefer, but I do want to be a grandfather later on. Make sure you adopt."
Akashi stiffened. "Don't state such ridiculous subjects, Father."
"I'd rather have a wife for you. However, if you must choose males, then Tetsuya is the best choice," his mother added.
"Do not say such nonsense as well, Mother."
Hayato stretched with a sigh. "Back to the matter at hand; Seijuro, you are sure you are ready?"
"I am," Akashi confirmed. "And I'd like to be the prosecutor in this case, and Mother to be the attorney."
Rin smirked. "It'd be a pleasure."
Midorima's phone buzzed. It was a low, warning buzz that had the green-head's instincts on alert. "It's simply a text," he murmured to himself. He dug through his school bag and flipped open his phone.
We are ready.
The shooter blinked. It only took a couple of seconds for him to comprehend the meaning of the words. He narrowed his eyes and tapped his taped fingers against his leg. "Interesting." He snapped the phone closed.
We are ready.
Murasakibara lazily opened a bag of chips and popped only one in his mouth. He munched loudly. "Kuro-chin . . ."
He ate another one.
We are ready.
Aomine shot yet another basketball through the net with one hand. He bent down, heaving. Sweat dripped down his face slowly, and a towel hung from his neck. In his left hand was a cell-phone. "It's not like me to practice," he grumbled.
He clutched the phone tighter.
We are ready.
Kise smiled. It was a warning smile; a vengeful one. He gripped onto the cell-phone and stared at the wall in front of him. "Finally," he whispered. "I will take revenge for Kaa-san and Tou-san."
He laughed and flipped the phone closed. "The Generation of Miracles are ready."
Kuroko Ibuki
Defendent
YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer on the plaintiff's attorney within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service of this summons, or within 30 days after service of this summons is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the Tokyo Prefacture.
In case of your failure to answer this summons, a judgement by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in this complaint, together with the costs of this action.
Dated: 0X-0X-20XX
Akashi Rin
Attorney for Akashi Seijuro
(03) – 0X2X3 - XX32
Sorry for the "long" wait. The whole week I couldn't write because I'm training for my basketball championships. The phone number on the bottom is the typical Japan phone-number format, with Tokyo's area code (03).
This chapter was mostly the set-up for what will come next. I also wanted a break from angst and incorporate humor. Just a breather. I hope you enjoyed it!
As I've said in the last chapter, I will be replying to every single review to show my thanks. If you have not gotten a message back saying thanks, and you reviewed last chapter, tell me! Unfortunately, I can't reply to guests :(
Thank you, and please review :) Tell me of any typos or grammatical issues!
Thank you El Cierto for pointing out those mistakes!
~Virelei