Language: English is not my first language.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke or any of its characters.

Chapter 32

Daiki cowered down. His finger ghosted over the traces on the ground and a sly smirk tugged at his lips. He crawled forward through the bushes, trying to make no sound. Peering through the leafs, he saw his prey right in front of him. It leaned forward and looked unsure over some scrubs, scratching its head and shrugged its shoulders. That was his signal. The bluenette bolted from his hiding spot and flew almost vertically at the unaware redhead. "Got'cha." Hollering like some mad man, he flung his arms around Taiga's waist causing them both to topple to the ground. Cursing every swear word he knew, the redhead kicked his strong legs around and pressed hard at the bluenette's head. "Oh no, you don't!"

Even if his body was leaner, Daiki had a considerable strength and now he used it for his advance. He tugged hard at the hothead's waist, preventing him from crawling away and plummeted his full weight on the mud spitting man's back. Pressing both of his hands into the marshy ground beside Taiga's head, he leaned in, "What should be your punishment, Taiga?" His wicked whisper to the Kagami guy's ear sent shivers of infuriation through his own system. He had chased the redhead for hours. Somewhere lost the nettle, got a violent scratch on his cheek and some bruises covered his abdomen where he got kicked the last time he almost got him. Now it was over and his body felt an excitement about what was going to happen. He had imagined the whole time, how he would punish his hotheaded lover. His body reacting instantly as his hot, damp skin came into contact with the sunkissed, sweaty back beneath him.

"Bwa … kaw … heck … eww. First, move! I got mud in my mouth. Bleh, disgusting." Taiga peered over his shoulder at the bluenette, but wished that he didn't. The expression on the tanned males face and how he licked his lips, like he was going to devour him on the spot, gave him a twisted feeling in his gut. Why did he look so hot, even though he was also covered in dirt and had scratches all over his body? Why did it give him the urge to root like an animal? He didn't know. He only was glad that the morass on his face, covered the redness of his cheeks. But that didn't help him in away, when the taller male skidded down his body and eventually pressed his hard dick against the curve of his ass. "I don't think so, Taiga. You will not get away this time." Daiki yerked his hips forward to let his lover feel the heat radiating from his pelvis. "You feel that? How hot I am for you?" He moved his twitching flesh slyly up and down between Taiga's crack, nibbling at his neck wherever he found an unsoiled spot. "I want to be back inside you. Feel your twitching flesh around my hard rod. Wanna hear you screaming my name when I make you cum." With every sentence spoken, Daiki trusted forward, giving the exact implication of his words to the redhead.

Taiga had thought, he was getting used to be talked dirty to. But now the bluenette brought it to a whole new level. He was certain that he currently showed a full body blush. His breath hitched at every word sensually spoken with that sultry voice in his ear and he couldn't suppress his youthful reaction to it. He wanted to press his hips more into the ground to get a friction on his twitching member, but at the same time wanted to grind against the taller man's pelvis. It horrified him that this guy could coax such a primal reaction out of him with just a few suggestions. He wasn't like that. Had never been before.

Not knowing, how they got from a chasing game to a make out session and getting more embarrassed by the minute, the redhead chose the third option. Using his remarkable strength, he pushed his body from the ground, causing the caught of guard man on his back to topple off. "Oi!" The complaint reached his ear, but Taiga was already in a position to bolt. Looking over his shoulder once more, he couldn't contain a sneering grin, "You didn't think, I would let you that easily, right?", and darted into the undergrowth before him.

"Bloody hell! You like me chasing your ass, don't you?", The bluenette scoffed and was high on the redhead's heel. Neither of them would have expected what happened next. Rounding a huge tree, Daiki speed up to catch up to his hotheaded lover, but suddenly crashed right into him as Taiga stood on his tip toes and tried to balance his weight back to his heels with helplessly flailing arms. "Fuck!"

"Shit!" The dual cursing as both became aware of the situation, did nothing to prevent them from tumbling over the abrupt lack of soil under their feet. In their fall, both clung to each other and exchanged shocked gazes, as they for the last time imprinted their beloved's face into their minds.

"Will this rain ever let up?", sighing Riko pulled the leather cover close and walked over to Junpei, who currently was braiding Ryouta's hair. "Can you explain to me, why I need to redo this every two days?" He tugged violently at the blonde's hair and ignored the flinching of the guy. "Ahahaha, I'm sorry Junpeicchi~. I just got caught up in some branches while stalk- … I mean … while looking for Tetsucchi." Junpei cracked up an eyebrow. "Did I just hear 'stalked'?" He grabbed on of the feathers resting in a bowl beside his folded legs and tugged harshly at the strains in his hand. "Ouch! No, no! You heard wrongly. I don't stalk him."

"Yeah, right! As if what you are doing isn't stalking, Ryouta-kun." Peeling the leather cover away, Tetsuya stepped into the tent and looked over everyones face. "Has anyone of you seen my sister?" Water dripped from his wet hair over his face and ran down over his white skin, leaving trails on the soft looking skin. Ryouta gulped audibly, his gaze fixed wide eyed on the perked up nipples of the small guy. "Stop that!" Riko swatted him over his head, a vein almost popping at her temple. "No, sorry Tetsuya. We haven't seen her in a while."

Sighing, the light-blue-haired male turned and was about to step outside again. "Tetsucchi~ don't leave. Come sit with me for a while and warm up." Winter-eyes peered over a delicate shoulder and a cold shiver ran over the blonde's spine. "I don't think so Ryouta-kun. If you will excuse me now." Without further delay he was gone, leaving a destroyed, silent man behind. "He hates me." Murmuring to himself, Ryouta hung his head low and clenched his fists in his lap. "Mah~ I guess your actions are kinda hateful." Junpei started with the next braid and Riko squatted down in front of the blonde, taking his face into her hands, pulling it up to met his golden eyes. "You know Ryouta, sometimes you simply over do it. Why don't you step down some notches and let it happen naturally, whatever it is. I know you like him very much … everyone does, but your antics are the wrong way to show him. Just let him be for a while. Your actions only make it worse now." The hard spoken truth, let the blonde bite his lips. He nodded into the silence as Riko let him go and slouched his back in remorse. "God, will you straighten up a bit? I can't reach like that and it isn't anyway like you. Sure, Riko said the truth. But don't give up so easily, or are your feelings just like that? Shallow?" Junpei attached some pearls to the blonde's hair to fix the feather into it and swatted his bend back. "Done! And I don't want to see you again in the next days for that. You hear me?" He got up and put his utensils into a box beside his berth. "Thank you. Both." Ryouta said as he stood up and walked to the exit. "And you are right, it isn't like me and no, my feelings aren't shallow." The glim in his golden eyes, let the pair smile as they glanced at each other. "Yup, he's back to himself." Riko leaned against Junpei's arm, as they watched the blonde go.

"Uhm … Riko ..." Junpei peered down at his childhood friend's head, suddenly lost for words by having her so close. "What is it, Junpei?" She looked up with a quizzical gaze, her eyes straight and unwavering as she pressed a bit closer. "Ah … uhm …" His brain wasn't function right and he couldn't seem to avert his gaze. "You got a lash there." He suddenly pointed out, just to say anything not stupid. "Hmm, will you remove it for me?" Riko snickered inwardly, raised her face a bit more and closed her eyes.

There wasn't even a lash to begin with, but seeing her completely at ease with the situation, Junpei rose his hand and swept a thumb over her soft cheek. Unconsciously, he leaned down and brought his face closer to hers, gaze fixed on her mellow lips.

"Junpei, have you seen Ako-chan? I can't find her and the rain becomes heavier by the minute." Teppei's face popped up in the entrance, fringe plastered to his forehead. Junpei leaped away from Riko, a blush riding high on his cheek bones. "N-no … I haven't seen her."

"Eh~ no way. Where did she go to then? Come help me look for her." Not meeting Riko's eyes, the pine-green-eyed male walked to Teppei. "Later, Riko.", he murmured as he stepped into the rain.

"Moa~ how much later you idiot?" Riko stomped her foot after the two men were gone and sat down with a twee pout on her face. She knew that Junpei was a tad slow on the uptake, but the situation had been a perfect opportunity for them to finally take the next step. If only Teppei hadn't shown up. "ARG!" Clutching at her hair, she imagined twisting the tall brunette's neck in a very deadly way. Why was there always someone to interrupt them?

High up in the trees, water bundled to a large puddled on a leaf. Slowly it run together feeded by the still falling rain. The leaf dipped slightly to the side and let the formed droplet loose. The surrounding greenery reflected in its surface as it fell freely, until it burst on a tanned nose. Daiki groaned and cracked his hazy eyes open. Slowly he recognized his surroundings but even worse was, that his whole body throbbed with pain. A hiss whooshed out between his teeth as he slightly tried to move his arm. Where was he? What had happened? And why couldn't he move his legs? He tried to lift his head, but the pain instantly shooting down his back let him stop mid air. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned once more, slowly laying his head back to the ground. But the climbs down his body, had eliminated his fear of two broken legs. The cause that he couldn't move them was his red-haired lover. Out cold, like he was only minutes before, laid he sprawled out on top and didn't move an inch. "Oi, Taiga." His voice was raspy and almost not perceptible. How long had they been unconscious? He didn't know. Currently the pain which coursed through his body, when he even attempted to lift a finger, stood more in the foreground. Daiki furrowed his brows and looked around. He noticed the broad breach they had struck through the greenery with their bodies as they had fallen from the high slope. Far above he could make out the edge of the cliff. It didn't wonder him anymore that they had been out cold for a long time. His next attempt was to try and squirm his legs free. "Fuck!" He had no strength, but couldn't just wait until Taiga woke up on his own. "Taiga. TAIGA!" The redhead didn't react. "Oi, shithead! Wake up, god dammit!" The bluenette, in his annoyed and hurt state, tied to kick his leg up and immediately cursed. Really moving wasn't the best option. With no other option left, he resigned to his fate and closed his eyes to think.

More droplets splattered on the ground. The treetops couldn't contain the huge load of water from heaven. It was blessing for Daiki's dry throat and he opened his mouth wide to get a bit of moisture back inside his body. He had dozed off before, but now after, he didn't know how long, he felt some of his strength coming back. Moving didn't hurt as horrible as before. Slowly he struggled himself into a sitting position. Taiga hadn't moved the whole time and now he was beginning to worry. It didn't occur to him previously, to erroneous for his freshly found happiness. But what if their fall had … 'No!' He didn't even want to think about it. This wasn't happening. He couldn't have lost him over a stupid accident like this. Calming his panicked heartbeat, Daiki inhaled deeply and let his eyes roam over the redhead's body. Was he still breathing? His hand shivered, as he laid it on the sunkissed back of his beloved. 'Please!' Was the only thought hunting through his mind.

"Have you found her?" Teppei peered over the bush to Junpei, who was walking in his direction. "No, not even a trace. Since when is she gone?" They both were wet to their bones, the coldness creeping up from the ground biting into their flesh. "I don't know. Masako has last seen her at lunch, since then she has vanished." Teppei wiped some water from his eyes, worry sprawled all over his face. "Damn, that is too long for a small child to be out in this heavy rain. She will freeze. We need to hurry. Go and get Ryouta and the others. I will search further ahead." The pine-green-eyed male spun on his heels and walked deeper into the rainforest.

Heaving heavily Teppei got back to their camp as fast as he could. In almost no time everyone was on their feet to search for little Ako-chan. They split up into two-people teams and moved in different directions to widen their search range. But after two hours, they still hadn't found her. Grouping up again, they discussed what was to be done next, when they noticed that another one of their group was amiss. "Where is Ryouta?" Riko asked and looked around, but the blonde was nowhere in sight. "Didn't he go with Tetsuya?"

"No, I was with Teppei-san the whole time.", the light-blue-haired male said, startling everyone by his sudden manifestation like always. "You were?", the tall brunette asked puzzled and raised an eyebrow, which got him a deadly glare from the small male. Riko sighed, "Anyway, we need to find Ako-chan. Fast! Ryouta can look after himself. Where could she have gone? Does she have a hideout? Maybe we should try to search from there."

"You don't need to. I found her." Stepping out of the jungle, Ryouta appeared with a wide grinning Ako-chan on his shoulders. Both looked like drowned rats, but that was currently incidental. "Oh, thank god." Rushing and slipping through the mud, Masako and Teppei almost crashed into him and lifted the little girl from his shoulders. "Where were you? God, Ako." The woman with the long black hair scolded, but kneed down and scooped her daughter into a tight embrace. She looked up at Teppei, all her anxiety falling from her face.

"She was in the small cave, I showed Tetsucchi the other day. Was just a thought of me, that she could be hiding from the rain there." Ryouta scratched his head and smiled bashfully, eyeing Tetsuya, hoping for a positive response. But first he god a bear hug from Teppei, which lifted his feet from the ground. "Thank you, Ryouta. Really, thank you." The brunette pressed him hard to his wet body and everyone could hear the blonde's ribs crack. "Ouch, Teppeicchi, you'll kill me." Teppei let go with a warm smile and helped Masako to her feet. "Come, I will bring you to my tent. She needs to warm up." Guiding the dark-haired woman with an arm around her shoulder, he nodded to his friends who all had a kinda baffled expression on their faces.

"Nee~, is it just me or is there more to Teppei and Masako-san, than him being the baby-sitter for Ako-chan?" Riko tipped her head to the side and observed as the three padded through the sizzling rain. "Noway … you mean. Is that why he always vanishes?" Junpei stared after his friend, his mouth slightly gaping. "Ah, come on Junpei. It's not that offbeat." She clapped his jaw shut and tugged at his wrist. "I need to warm up, too. Do you want a hot tea?" Riko looked up into his pine-green eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. "Uuh … yeah. Tea would be good." Both walked away and so did the rest of their group. Only Ryouta didn't move from his spot until the light-blue-haired man was out of sight.

"How can you be fine, with having no grandchildren? And Taiga is your only son. I still think we should separate them. They will come around when the right woman appears." Masahiro sipped at his small wooden crafted cup and squinched his eyes a bit. The brew in it tasted first sweet, but then fiery tongues licked down his gullet and warmed his stomach up from inside. "Uff, what a hellish thing you made there, Raion. What does it contain?" He held up his cup for another shot and raised an eyebrow as he got no reaction. "Oi, Raion!"

"Ha?" Snapping out of his thoughts, he poured hastily another amount for Masahiro and leaned back, sipping at his own drink. "I have thought about it for a long time, but I have never seen Taiga react so strongly to another human. Beside challenges that is. You could compare it actually. When I suggested the marriage with the daughter of my acquaintance from another tribe … well, more like presented him with the accomplished facts, I felt for the first time fear when looking into my son's eyes. He was ready to pounce at me with ever fiber of his being. I guess it's useless to talk him out of it and if your son is only slightly like that, I see no good ending with separating them." Masahiro stared at his life rival and sighed. "Daiki is … hot headed, stubborn and overconfident."

"Sounds like you." Raion couldn't contain his teasing and cracked an eyebrow with a smile to his face. Masahiro growled and glared at him, but let it go this time. "I had planned for Daiki to take over the clan. I see Tetsuya not fit for the position." He peered into his cup, but looked up surprised about Raion's answer. "He will be a fine chieftain. The way he handled the whole incident showed that he cares about his tribe's man and his behaviour was fierce but a leaders worth. You shouldn't discharge him only because of his stature or soft spots he may contain."

They fell into silence and to both it was a surprise that they could talk normally without getting instantly into another heated argument. Gulping the honey-water down, Masahiro stood up after a while. "I will think about it. Good night." He put the small cup beside Raion and got to his loaned tent, where his wife was already asleep.

Raion sat for a while longer and stared into the flames of the small fire in front of him. He thought back how it had been for him and Tora, to fall immediately and completely in love. Her denying the facts and him pushing forward no matter what. He knew that his son inherited all the good parts from his wife, but the mix of both parents stubbornness also residing inside him was what got him always in trouble. Raion smiled and then sighed. He was pretty curious to met the Aomine chieftain's second son. If he was like Masahiro, then they could say good night to their pieceful life. Hopefully that he also had something from his mother, Raion shivered slightly at the thought since Hiruna could be more scary than Masahiro sometimes, he got up and laid himself down on his bed. Maybe they would get news from them in the next days. He knew that remorse wouldn't stay away from Taiga, after all he was his son.

TBC