Betrayal In Its Most Simplest Form

Chapter 19

Kuroko crouched down, squeezed his eyes shut, and pressed the palms of his hands against his ears out of desperation. His knees pressed against his chest, the teal-head ducked his head down and flinched when another onslaught of violent knockings abused the outside of his door. Even with the plugging of his ears, Kuroko could still hear the loud, cursing voice through his room.

"Fucking brat!" the voice screeched. "Get your ass out here! I'll kill you!" More vicious knocks pounded against the door, followed by colorful words that would make a sailor feel ashamed. The doorknob rattled endlessly from her constant attempts. Kuroko only winced and tried to ignore her. "Let me in, Tetsuya! Damn it, where is the screwdriver? I swear, I'll kill you when I get to you!"

Kuroko Ibuki stood outside, livid, her teeth clenched while heavy breathing came through both her nose and mouth. Both of her hands were balled into fists, but in the left hand, a crumpled piece of paper was grasped tightly. Court summons it read in crimpled, black font. How dare that brat—how dare he involve the court system into this? How dare he cause me trouble; he has nerves to ruin my public image.

"Let me in!" she screamed and kicked hard at the door. Some of the paint chipped off from her heel.

The teal-haired teen only prayed for his father to come home, soon. He knew it was useless, though, since his father would be gone for most of the day. They hadn't planned for Ibuki to come home, however, because of the note she left this morning.

When another kick was aimed at his door, Kuroko scrambled up and dived for his phone. His shaky hands accidentally pressed the wrong number twice, but he finally was able to get his thumb to push down on '3'. Since it was speed-dial, the phone automatically started calling for the needed person.

"Tetsuya?" Never has Akashi's voice been so relieving to Kuroko.

"A-Akashi-kun," Kuroko said but flinched when Ibuki started another string of curses and hollers, along with more punches and kicks to his room.

Akashi heard it, even if the phone was not on speaker. "Is your mother dangerous right now, Tetsuya?"

Kuroko's free hand grasped the tiny fiber of his carpet, scared. "Hai," he choked out, but made sure his voice was loud enough to be heard over Ibuki's yelling and quiet enough so that his mother wouldn't know he was on the phone. "Otou-san is not home."

"You do have a closet in your room, do you not?" Akashi asked. "Go inside your closet."

"H-hai?"

"Inside your closet. Now."

With his blue eyebrows furrowed, Kuroko slowly stood up and stumbled toward his small closet, trying his best to ignore his mother's screams. He slid open the door, stuffed himself in, and closed it. Immediately, a black sheet of the night sky hung over his eyes. He couldn't see or hear anything but his mother's curses. This made the teal-haired teen even more agitated, as he could not see what was going on around him. He closed his eyes, but opened them after, since it made no difference.

"Why do you want me in the closet, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko shivered when he heard yet another attempt to unlock his door lock. He had barricaded the door with his chair right under the door knob, so that his mother would still not be able to turn the knob even if the door wasn't locked, but it still didn't make him feel safe.

"Close your eyes, Tetsuya," Akashi said, his voice low. "Lean your back against the wall. Take slow breaths."

Even through the phone, Kuroko obeyed Akashi and started to take slow, but deep breaths through his nose. His pounding heart was suddenly very loud to his ears.

"Do not listen to anyone or anything but me." His former captain's authoritative voice ran deep through Kuroko's mind. "Tetsuya, you will be obey me."

With his eyes still shut, he forced his tensed shoulders to relax and blocked out any distracting noises, including his mother. The only person he would listen to right now would be Akashi. "Hai," he breathed.

"You belong to me," Akashi said. "You do remember our unspoken promise from last time, do you not?"

Kuroko almost reddened at the thought of Akashi's and his last several kisses from a week or less ago. Honestly, he, having no experience in the dating nor sexual field (except for that one date he agreed to go with Momoi in middle school), didn't know people could kiss in such a way in real life.

Again, he answered with a gentle 'yes'.

Akashi chuckled from the other end, and it made Kuroko delighted to hear a pleasant [only to him it was pleasant; to anybody else, it was their impending doom] sound, a great contrast to his mother's loud obceneties. "Good boy," the red-head remarked with his same soft, yet demanding voice. "My family seems to have—accepted you, Tetsuya."

"Akashi-kun's parents?"

"Yes. Though their choice of words were rather inappropriate." Kuroko furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what the Akashi family had said about him and Akashi. "Wait a few more days, Tetsuya." The teal-head relaxed even more at the tenderly heard statement. His eyes were still closed. "The court date has been set. Soon, you will be free."

"Free . . . with Akashi-kun?" Kuroko was hesitant to ask.

Akashi gave a small sound of amusement. "Yes, with me. With your father, and Shintarou and the others. More shall know of our relationship; however, they will only know to an extent. No one will know the taste of your lips." Kuroko ducked his head and fought the oncoming blush. "And soon, I will take you out properly, to a place where it is secluded; no one would find us."

An unknown warmth hugged Kuroko's shoulders, and he imagined Akashi next to him, his warm body heat pressed against his small frame, a pale arm wrapped around his shaking shoulders. The image managed to fully relax the teal-haired boy. He sunk deeper into his closet.

"That . . . sounds . . nice, Akashi-kun," Kuroko managed to murmur. His head bobbed, exhaustion taking over his body. The phone in his hand loosened.

Soon, true comforting darkness invaded his mind.

~Setting Skip~

"Tetsuya?" Akashi asked with one eyebrow raised. The only response he received was evened breathing. He shook his head and looked at his cellphone. "To fall asleep; how reckless."

"Who was that, Seijuro?" Rin strode up behind him and looked over to his phone, but Akashi had already closed it.

"It was Tetsuya," Akashi answered smoothly.

Suddenly, a teal-haired man shot up from the couch, his eyes wide with panic. "What? Is he all right? Is he hurt?"

Hayato put a hand over the man's shoulder to calm him down.

"Do not panic, Haru-san." Akashi turned to address the man. "Ibuki must have directed her anger and blame to Tetsuya. She was in one of her . . . moods." He walked over to the low table and grabbed his cup of tea. His hetero-colored eyes darkened at the mention of Kuroko's mother.

"Is he all right?" Haru repeated.

"He is fine. Tetsuya must have locked the door and blocked it with some sort of object. He is, as of right now, asleep in the closet."

". . . The closet?"

Akashi didn't answer.

"Heh, leave it to Akashi to order Tetsu to do dirty things," Aomine snickered. He was leaning against the wall with Kise, away from the crowd. He gave a smirk.

Akashi calmly turned to stare at the tanned teenager. "Daiki, your training menu was just tripled. I believe your captain is Imayoshi Shoichi, correct?"

Aomine swallowed hard and tried not to show his fear. "He would never increase my training menu. I wouldn't do it, anyways."

"He increased it last time at my request, and you did it at my order, did you not?" Akashi murmured darkly.

"That was because you threatened us!"

"Then I see no reason why I can't threaten you, again."

The statement came out so casually, so normally, it was as if Akashi was talking about the weather. Hayato watched, proud of his son, and quietly sipped his tea in amusement. Rin only shook her head.

Catherine, Haru's colleague, scooted closer to Kuroko's father. Something told her the red-head kid was crazy, and a person who should be avoided. Jun only cocked an eyebrow.

Everybody had come to Kyoto, invited to Akashi's parents' mansion-like house. Everybody, meaning the Generation of Miracles; Kuroko's father; Catherine, Jun, Hiroshi; Akashi; Akashi's parents; one trusted worker from each of the Ibuki-owned corporation; one lawyer that worked for Hayato; and Kagami. They all crowded into the huge family room. Most sat on the couches and chairs provided, while others stood for the courtesy of others. Akashi stood, but not out of courtesy, but because he felt in control when he was standing.

The only ones who were missing would be Kuroko himself, and the one they were trying to destroy: Ibuki.

"Everyone, please be silent."

At Hayato's request, everybody stopped talking and turned their attention to the Akashi family. Rin and Hayato were standing next to a couch with their son in between them. Now that they were side by side, most blinked at the resemblence between the three. Especially Hayato and Akashi, who both had red, short hair and strangely colored eyes.

Rin cleared her throat. "We've asked you to come here to discuss the plans of Kuroko Ibuki. Everybody should be well informed about it."

The crowd nodded. Some shivered at the name.

"Has everybody brought a copy of their evidence? Be it a written report, articles, recordings, or pictures; we need them. If you are simply a witness, you do not need anything but your statement." Hayato ran a hand through his red hair and watched more than half of the crowd's head bob up and down. He sighed, relieved. "We'll be breaking up into three groups, as there are too many of you to completely make the plan as a whole. We have already taken every one of you into account—to those who will show up at the trial—and have included you into the sequence of action. Please do know some of you will be in danger, and some of you will be forced to stand as a witness during the trial, be it for us or for the defendent's side.

Also, I will be making several copies of paper evidence-based, and I will be keeping the recording safe. As you may be in danger of Ibuki's radar, do not care for the damage Ibuki does to you from now on. All damage will be recovered once we win the trial. Any questions?"

No one dared to speak up.

"All right. You will either come with me, my wife, Rin, or my son, Seij—"

"Hold on," Catherine interrupted. All heads turned toward her. "You're letting your son into this, who's only sixteen? Isn't that dangerous? Speaking of which, why are teenagers here? Aren't you putting them all in danger?" She was addressing the Generation of Miracles and Kagami.

Midorima spoke up before Akashi could reply. The green-head fixed a cold stare at Haru's colleague. "Miss, I don't know you. However, we are more than capable to take care of ourselves. We are probably more capable than all of you," he looked through the crowd that made up of mostly adults. "Furthermore, Akashi is the one who will act as the persecutor during the trial. Do not underestimate us."

Akashi slightly raised one red eyebrow at the green-head. He was thoroughly impressed with his previous teammate's response. I'll have to reward him, later.

"As Shintarou-kun has said, they can handle themselves," Hayato confirmed. "Now, on my side, where we will be dealing with witness statements, I need Catherine-san, Jun-san, Kagami-kun, Kintarou, Kagura and Atsushi-kun. We'll be discussing plans in my office."

The chosen people reluctantly followed the tall man out of the room. The two people from the Atari and the Rasa nervously casted down their eyes, frightened that they were just about to betray Kuroko Ibuki. Murasakibara, confused as to why he wasn't placed into Akashi's group, was most reluctant, but walked out anyway when he saw the expectant look on his former captain's face.

"Now then, I wll be dealing with the evidence. Hiroshi, Daiki, Yuki, and Haru. Come with me." The last person that worked for the Ibuki Corporation hesitantly stepped up and followed the red-head. Hiroshi easily followed suit, along with Haru. Aomine, pissed that he had to separate from Kise, only stomped off when Akashi threatened to quidruple his training menu.

"The rest, come with me," Akashi said shortly.

Midorima and Kise—the ones left in the Generation of Miracles—and the lawyer followed the red-haired teen to another room. "Akashicchi," Kise whined. "Why did you separate Aominecchi from me? Don't we have the same jobs?"

"Daiki holds the photos the two of you edited. He will present the evidence. You will only be the witness to confirm it." Akashi closed the door behind him. They were in a small office, one that was abandoned when Akashi moved out to his own apartment. "Stop complaining."

Kise glared at the floor. Honestly, he wanted to be a part of showing the evidence that would ultimately destroy Kuroko Ibuki.

"Seijuro-kun." The lawyer mentioned earlier stepped up and frowned severely. Akashi only looked up at him, irked at how the man looked down on his eyes. "I'd rather speak to Hayato-san about this matter. It'd be much more convenient if I were to be placed with Hayato-san."

"I am his son," Akashi said curtly. "What needs to be said to my father can be said to me. It will eventually look into my knowledge, eventually."

The lawyer only twitched his eye and shifted his weight.

"Enough stalling," Midorima pushed up his glasses with his middle fingers. "Akashi, what have you been hiding from us?"

The red-head gripped the folder he was holding in his right hand tighter. "Yes, I have been keeping you in the dark, haven't I?" He set the thick folder on his desk, opened it, and started to prod through the papers. "Since Ryouta and Daiki have been editing the photos, the two should know a part of what I have discovered."

Midorima glared at Kise. The blonde scratched his head. "Well, we've only kind of guessed. The details are still hazy."

"Reading this should help." Akashi pulled out three of the same packets. "I photo-copied all notes, discoveries, witnesses, and jobs onto these papers. The first and second page contains my notes, along with the summary. You should find out the secrets we have discovered of Ibuki. This is what we'll use to win the trial."

He handed the packets to each person in the room. The lawyer looked at it, bored, since he was already aware of Ibuki's secret and how they were going to attack them. He would not be part of the trial; only help set up the plan and the order of which evidence will be presented. Midorima and Kise, however, will be showing up at the trial.

"This is . . ." Midorima widened his eyes. He read the words over and over, processed the names through his mind, comparing all of his predictions to Akashi's notes; it all resulted in the same answer. "How could I not have seen this . . . it was right there in front of me."

Kise whispered the name slowly on his lips. He looked at the packet in disbelief. "It all connects. Everything; the answer makes sense." He stared at Akashi in awe. "Akashicchi, you're too smart . . ."

"It was by the help of everyone," Akashi replied. "But of course; I am always right, aren't I?" He was never one to be very modest. "Now that you have been informed of the current situation," the red-head stared cooly into everybody's eyes, including the lawyer.

"Are you ready to bring down Ibuki?"

~Setting Skip~

Kuroko Ibuki yanked open the door to her office and stormed inside. Many widened their eyes at her behavior and scurried off. The teal-haired woman was beyond furious. Thousands of curses swam through her mind, aimed toward her son, the Akashi family, toward her husband, to the Generation of Miracles; to anyone who had defied her. They got in her way; they interfered.

"Damn it!" she roared and grabbed her lamp on the desk to throw it at the wall. The light bulb smashed into many small, sharp glass pieces. Her anger still not spent, she snatched her name tag and threw it at the wall as well. "Aren't I supposed to be feared? The most powerful woman in Japan? Why don't they fear me?" Ibuki threw her chair.

The woman took deep, raspy breaths and struggled to compose herself. Her hands flexed, wanting so much to strangle her own son. "They want a fight," she hissed through her clenched teeth. "They'll get one."

She whipped out her phone from her pocket and quickly dialed a phone number. Ibuki put it to her ear with a smirk. "The Akashi family may be the best attorneys in Japan," she murmured. "But I have someone better."

"Hello? Iba—I mean, Ibuki?" The person who answered spoke in fluent English.

"Liam," Ibuki said, also in English. "Do you remember that favor you owed me years ago?"

". . Yes."

"It's time for that favor. I . . . need you to fly over to Japan for a bit."

~Setting and Time Skip~

"That hurts, Akashi-kun."A soft-spoken yet emotionless voice addressed the taller red-head. Kuroko grabbed the hands that were inflicting pain out of instinct. Akashi only raised his eyebrows; a look that made the teal-head let go of the other's hands. He went back to rebandaging Kuroko's body.

"I know it hurts," Akashi said. "It'll hurt more if you don't bandage it. Relax."

"Hai," came the immediate response. "Where are Aomine-kun and Kise-kun?"

Half of the group that would be participating in the trial were now at Akashi's complex. Haru had woken the teal-haired boy up early to drive all the way to Kyoto. They couldn't take the train, as it would be too full, and crowded spaces wouldn't do well with Kuroko's healing. The two had met up with Catherine, Jun, and Hiroshi, who were also ordered to come to Akashi's house. Murasakibara and Midorima came together, but both stayed outside since it was too stuffy in the apartment; the green-head right outside the door and Murasakibara inside the car, entertaining himself with snacks.

"Daiki and Ryouta are already on their way," the red-head answered. "Mother and Father are also on their way, along with Taiga."

Kuroko blinked, lifting up his arms when Akashi told him to. "Kagami-kun? You got him involved?" For some reason, that sparked a bit of anger in the teal-head's chest.

"He was being nosy," he said tersely. "He also has American connections. I had to make use of him."

"But—"

"Do not argue."

Kuroko pressed his lips together and didn't say anything further. He shivered a bit from the cold wind. All of them, his father, the colleagues, Akashi, and him, stood in the living room, getting last-minute preparations finished. The door was wide open, inviting cool air to come inside.

"Are you cold, Tetsu? Do you need me to close the door?" Haru stopped his endless pacing in the living room and walked over to his son worriedly. Despite his image of being composed, the man was actually sweating buckets, nervous and agitated. Many doubts had started to pop into his head. "Does it hurt?"

"He is fine, Haru-san. Do step back; you will make him feel nervous." Akashi stood from where he was kneeling, finished with his bandaging.

"R-right. I apologize."

"Wear this, Tetsuya." The red-haired teen grabbed a new, black dress-shirt and held it behind Kuroko. It was completely new, having bought it yesterday. Haru had went with him to help pick out the right size and shirt for the small teen.

Kuroko obedientally slid his arms through the sleeves. However, he was upset that Akashi had spent money on such a useless thing. He didn't dare complain, though.

"Turn around."

Kuroko did.

Akashi started to button his shirt, starting from the top. His cold fingers brushed against Kuroko's chest and continued to brush against his body as Akashi worked his way down. The teen fought a blush and bit his lip to stay calm in front of his father. The red-head smirked, aware of Kuroko's reaction. "Now for the tie." He grabbed a striped tie and tied it neatly around his partner's neck. This time, Akashi's fingers brushed against his chin.

"Akashi-kun," Kuroko started, but silenced by when he saw Akashi's expression.

"You're ready, now," the taller teen said quietly, running a hand through the teal-locks to smoothen down the wild hairs. "Physically. Are you ready, mentally?"

"Hai," Kuroko nodded. "As long as Akashi-kun and everybody else is there."

"Of course." Haru bent down to press a kiss on Kuroko's cheeks. "You won't meet that woman alone."

The Akashi teen stretched his neck before grabbing the thick folder on the table. "It is time. Is everybody ready?" He received nods. "Let us go. Tetsuya, you will be riding with me."

Everybody agreed with the arrangements and started to head out the door. Kuroko clutched tightly onto his father's jacket while Akashi put one hand on his back to urge him forward. Midorima greeted them out front, his own thick folder in his hands.

Kuroko looked up to the blinding light at the sky and took a deep breath.

Here we go, Okaa-san.

Like I said on my profile, it would take a week to update! And it's been exactly a week :) Basketball practices have been brutal, and exams are hitting me hard! Pre-calculus is so much fun, huh?

Anyway, the story is wrapping up now :) I'm guessing around 6 more or less chapters. Please point out mistakes! I got many NEW reviewers and new PM's that made me seriously cry out of happiness xD Thank you for being so faithful!

Meww Guest Review: Your corrections were incorrect :) When someone is talking with two big paragraphs, you simply start a new paragraph and not put another set of quotation marks until the end.

~Virelei