Disclaimer: I do not own KnB or the characters, as you probably could tell. Lol.
-Blackmail-
A Kuroko No Basket Fan fiction
Written by anniee-chan
Perhaps the question that most people cannot answer… what is Love?
-Chapter Two-
"Here are the files you wanted, Akashi-kun."
Akashi accepted the faded yellow envelope, and waved his hand to signal for the maids disappearance. That girl- the blue haired one from last time was bothering him ever so slightly, so he had done some research on her. He had to know what her background was; it had intrigued him, such that he had specially requested a profile on her.
He'd figured that there were many possibilities on why she was there, that was a given, but who was she exactly? What was her personality, her likes, her dislikes, her friends, her enemies? Call it possessiveness if you must, however it seemed more suitable to call it- analysing a person's backgrounds and their motives. To know one's motive- something that drives a particular action, the reason behind something, gives someone the power to predict and control that person.
It was something that had comforted Akashi, when he knew absolutely everything about someone. The rays of sunlight that was flooding in from his floor-to-ceiling windows gradually got covered up by darkening clouds, as Akashi turned the lights on. The temperature in the room also seemed to have dropped, as the chandelier on the circular dome-like ceiling flickered twice before shining brightly, emitting its glow to all the corners of the grand room.
Slightly shuddering, perhaps from a chilly wind that seemingly had come from no-where, he opened the envelope with a swift move and brought out the papers that were neatly organised. It wasn't hard to get the information; after all, Akashi had many sources that he could use. He sighed, piercing hetero-coloured eyes staring at the documents before his slim fingers carefully flipped the first blank title page over revealing a photo.
The photo showed a girl with eyes like a sparkling aquamarine stone, long icy blue lashes and mostly-straight, teal hair. She had a small smile on her face, and her skin was porcelain doll like- clear and flawless. The red-head frowned. The picture had a vast contrast with whom he had seen before. Although he remained rather careless of the encounter, he was sure that the Kuroko Tetsune from their last encounter looked fragile in terms of appearance with her messy blue hair, dull eyes and unorganised uniform. Her pleading, broken voice echoed in his memories, the look in her eyes that once shone like the picture he had right now, were dim and was filled with mixed emotions. Akashi's whole body tensed, realising the bluenette was once again, intruding his over-analytical and logical mind.
His right hand clenched the documents tighter, as he recalled the strange reactions he had when he came home that day when he met her. First, it was the curiosity he felt towards that girl, however that could be explained with the fact that she was being extremely suspicious lurking around. Then he started thinking about the encounter, playing that scene over and over again in his head, like a broken record stuck on repeat. He had easily brushed that off as well, it was his brain that was being persistent in finding out any clues on who she was, therefore it was necessary to revisit that time in his mind for things he had perhaps not realised before. But he had also felt the undeniable thrill when he had stabbed the scissors in her flesh. The blood that came out was a rich red, a beautiful colour that vastly contrasted her white-as-snow skin. Who exactly was this girl? The red-haired captain decided that the sooner he read her details and understood her, the sooner she would leave his mind.
His hetero coloured eyes quickly scanned the small writing underneath the picture. The date when this photo was taken was two years ago. What made this person change so much? The questions were in his head, stubbornly refusing to go away. The harder he tried to silence his thoughts, the more the questions came. Like how someone tries to stop water escaping from their hands, but it leaks through the gaps of the fingers anyways, Akashi's efforts to cease the questions proved futile.
Exasperated at his own mentality rebelling against himself, Akashi impatiently flipped the piece of paper. In his haste, there was a slight rip while turning the page over. A frown appeared on the red-heads face. It was always drilled into him that no matter how urgent something could be, the actions must prove to be composed, displaying authority and supremacy through his calm state of mind during panic, if that should ever happen. Only then would it prevent further accidents to be happening. However, there was nothing posing a threat right now. How careless was he to rip the paper? Since when has he started making such trivial mistakes?
Out of the corner of his eye, Akashi realised that his pair of scissors which were next to him seemed oddly bright in this room. He had cleaned off the blood in a few simple steps, attempting to untangle the strand of blue hair which was tightly wrapped around, and snapped it in half due to its stubbornness to come off the scissors. He put it back in the tin on his desk, and anyone who saw it would most possibly assume it was for cutting up things, like its intended use, but few people knew Akashi Seijuuro's 'other' side.
Turning with his back to the scissors and leaning against his desk, Akashi focused on the bluenettes documents. The information was apparently intentionally covered up and was hard to find, however one source did mention briefly about this girl.
But.. that couldn't be.
The red-head did not even finish the first paragraph when he felt like this information was way, way off the mark, perhaps, it got mixed up with another girl who shared the name? It was either that, or the teal-haired girl was no ordinary person.
Her lack of presence, what she appeared to be, was it all, an illusion?
Firstly her parents were the co-founders of a huge hotel company in collaboration with another close family. Without even knowing, Akashi already subconsciously calculated her wealth. It meant that her economic status would be significantly higher than what she let on. Given the shares that her parents had, the amount of money belonging to her family would be roughly equivalent to place her in the top 2% of all the families in Japan. So why does she seem like she comes from a common family?
Who is she, really?
More questions. Akashi demanded silence in the war that was ranging on inside, however, his voice was drowned out by the constant waves of debates over her identity.
Victim of an attempted rape.
…Rape? But attempted means that it didn't succeed… someone had saved her?
Admitted into hospital as she was showing unstable signs in terms of mental health. Parents killed in car crash while on the way to visit her.
Akashi's eyes narrowed. Death of both parents? The after-effects and shock would be enough to shatter one's willpower. There was more, but he felt no need to read what was left. For once, his calculations had been wrong. He thought that she was just a girl that had appeared in the wrong place, at the wrong time after all the interrogations he had with her. An amused expression showed up on his face, as both red and golden eyes glittered like gems. She was not what he thought she was, this blue haired girl was a mystery, and since she could trick him into thinking that she was a commoner, maybe it would prove to be entertaining if he became, 'friends' with her, regardless of his ulterior motive.
He breathed out while putting the papers neatly back into the envelope. Recently, one of his – obsessions, as some say, would be testing the limits to certain people. What was the limit to this girl – Kuroko Tetsune?
The red-haired captain smiled before taking out a gold lighter, and burnt the documents, his eyes hungrily reflecting the red and orange flames of fire.
Kuroko winced as she gingerly touched the soft, white fabric covering her scar. She had hastily stuck the cotton there from the first aid kit she had at home, after disinfecting the wound and going through agonizing pain. The wound was deep and ugly, as the scissors from last time had torn through her flesh.
She would normally have her lunch in a quiet place, where she would isolate herself from the crowd of students. However, today, the regulars of the Teiko basketball club were having a match with the second string for practise. The bluenette was unsociable, but the whole class was buzzing about it. As soon as the bell rang signalling that class was over, everyone was at a mad dash to the gym. Everyone except Kuroko, who felt that this event was nothing but a cruel game where the second-string members would be thrashed and humiliated. She had seen the regulars, the 'Generation of Miracles' play their basketball. It was out of curiosity that she attended and observed their practise match with another school, and it wasn't long before she realised that no-one from Teiko was taking the opposition seriously, yet, they still managed to beat that school by an insanely wide margin.
Red hair. Different coloured eyes. The supremacy of the leader in this team of unlimited potential was undeniable. She could tell that he pulled the strings.
Kuroko sighed before slowly packing up, making sure not to injure her neck by any sudden movements. She exited the classroom, and the hallways looked deserted already, everyone being at the gym. The throbbing pain of the scar was not disappearing, but she walked slowly, enduring the pain, past the gym. She had no intention to watch a game that was set up for one side to lose. The bluenette effortlessly dodged a few 'stray' students that were late and desperately running so they wouldn't miss the start of the match. They didn't notice her, due to her low presence, so thankfully no collisions happened.
As she walked at a careful pace, the crisp crunching of the red and golden autumn leaves under her feet comforted her, despite those colours reminding her of a certain someone that she had tried to forget. A few more steps, and the shelter of the enormous timber roof above her shadowed her from the harsh sun rays that started to inflict an uncomfortably hot heat spreading across her back. Her lone footsteps echoed on the concrete before the cheers from the gym became deafening loud and drowned every other noise that Kuroko could've heard.
Through a gap in the wide doors, she could see that the gym was packed with people, some having to stand outside to watch since there wasn't enough room. The second-string members were at a total loss, despite the game only to have just begun. The regulars were leading already by a wide margin, and the second string players hadn't even scored. More cheers, and squeals. Kuroko's stomach lurched. How could people possibly find joy in such an unequal match? She tore her eyes away from the game, when a pair of scissors narrowly missed her and landed firmly on the large wooden door behind her, like a dart and a dart board. She turned to her side, to see the red-haired captain, who was meant to be playing the game, and then the pair of scissors, which was right in front of her face. Her pale, panicked reflection looked back at her on the pair of scissors, her eyes were wide, and she was slightly trembling – whether it was from the shock, or from the unexpectedness of it all, she did not know.
It was the same pair of scissors that person had last time, and it was the same person she had tried to forget. The very one that had haunted her, the one that had broken through the walls she'd set up and looked – perhaps too far, into her soul.
Why was he here? Why did he have to reappear again?
The red-haired captain leaned forward, pinning her against the door once more. "I've found you again..." He whispered, his warm breath trailing on her Kuroko's cold and exposed neck, before taking the scissors out of the door and staring her in the eyes, red and golden orbs crashing with blue ones.
"But this time you won't run away."
A/N: Short chapter, don't kill me! Thanks for everyone that reviewed! I actually finished this chapter like a month ago, but I read it and read it and edited it like crazy, haha, not even sure what I'm doing now.. I'll try and upload the next chapter faster, heh heh. And also, for the people that had questions, Akashi is- as many of you may know, a psychopath, and the way he says 'I am absolute' gives me the feeling that he is possessive, considering the fact that he regards his former teiko teammates as pawns rather than friends or players. Anyways, that's my interpretation, which is how he's going to be based on in my story. I welcome suggestions and constructive criticism as always :) And also, I won't be excessively asking for reviews anymore, because I know most of you won't be bothered anyways. Lol. Thanks for reading!
-Anniee-chan ^-^