Chapter 2

Needless to say, Kagami and his entirely threatening charm had most of the other inmates cowering at his very gaze. It was his third week in the AMSP, and he was as happy as he was when he first came. That is, not at all.

And the thing, or rather, person that contributed to it most of all was the teal-haired ghost-assassin just stalking him everywhere.

And by everywhere…he meant everywhere.

In the cafeteria, where the little guy actually managed to casually swipe the stock room keys from an officer and took all the vanilla treats in there – the little bastard didn't even have the decency to steal the hamburgers!

("I thought we were roommates!" "But the burgers were really far.")

Kagami didn't even feel safe in the men's room.

(He…wasn't exactly sure why, but every time Kagami sat down on the toilet, he could picture a teal-haired head poking out from under or over the stall's wall.)

Now, Kagami trudged along the hall leading to the cafeteria, glaring at any unlucky soul to meet his gaze. He had been woken up today at 4:00 A.M. to freaking swing some oversized toothpick at some rocks, and he was not happy.

After today, Kagami decided, I am going to start a riot.

"I wouldn't do that," Teal said from behind him, and Kagami did his best not to flinch, "They'd stun-gun you to submission."

"I can handle the pain."

"…I'm sure you can."

Was that just sarcasm?

The red-head narrowed his eyes, "Was that just sarcasm?"

The assassin tilted his head, a small, unreadable smile on his lips, "I don't know."

Damn assassins.

The cafeteria was loud and stank of combined sweat and food and Kagami did not like the place at all. Maji Burger after the damned massacre was better than this shithole. But if there was anything he dislike the most here at the prison – which was, actually, everything but there were special mentions of things that made him want to commit arson – it would be that fact that…

"Ah, the Kaijou group took our tables," the assassin said, voice cry and level as usual. Kagami still wasn't comfortable with that, "No tables left."

….That the prison was segregated so much so that it was almost like high school all over again! Kagami wasn't sure if he wanted to shout today or just shove one of the self-absorbed bastards off their table. Last time he did that, though, it was the Rakuzan table and he had gotten the snot beaten from him. Kagami frowned, Repress; That didn't happen.

But anyway, "Perhaps we should just ask?" the assassin said, and Kagami groaned. Why was this guy still stalking him? And why wasn't an assassination attempt been, well, attempted yet?

Not waiting for the red-head's answer, the assassin pointed out to somewhere out of Kagami's peripheral vision, "Well, perhaps we should ask them?"

Kagami turned to look at a table at the far side of the cafeteria, filled with habitants of all black hair 12-lets. They looked…rambunctious. And loud. Kagami wasn't sure if he wanted that sort of company.

Somewhere behind them, someone shouted and several loud scuffles followed next after, "GIVE ME BACK MY FOOD YOU BASTARD!"

Which was then followed by something splatting on to the ground, and whistles and groans and grunts of pain.

Kagami ducked to avoid a plate of stale pancakes, and shrugged, "To the table I guess."

Then, one turned his head so fast it almost looked like the guy made a 360 degree turn with his head, and Kagami squinted at the younger fellow convict that had what looked like a cat shaped mouth. Poor sap.

x.x.x

"So you're the infamous Kagami Taiga, huh?" the apparent ringleader, a young man a year or two older than the red-head himself was, named HyuugaJunpei, said, arms crossed with his mouth pressed into a thin, straight line. Kagami sat straight across him, eyes returning the pressing gaze of the group dubbed 'Captain'. If one would squint, tilt his/her head to the side at a specific angle and look hard, one could see the imaginary sparks flying between the two.

Kiyoshi Teppei, mentally dubbed 'Co-Captain' in Kagami's head, laughed cheerily, then clapped his open palms over the backs of the two younger inmates, "Now, now, play nice you guys~"

"Wipe that grin off your face," Kagami said sharply, "Why are you grinning at a place like this?"

"Why not?"

"He has you there, Kagami-san," Kuroko supplied, and Kagami barely managed to hide a flinch. His lips twitched, and the three younger inmates seated to the left of Teppei laughed (in an odd, and slightly disturbing synchronized way), "Yeah Kagami-san."

There was silence for a few minutes before Kagami's ear twitched when the poor midget of a sap with the cat-mouth laughed out nervously, "A-anyway, I don't think we've all introduced ourselves to the both of you," standing up, the young man puffed his chest out and proudly exclaimed, "My name's Koganei Shinji, but you can call me Koga."

"…My name is Mitobe," the quiet giant beside Koga said, voice level, "And I apologize in place of Koga's rash man-handling of the both of you. It is up to you if you wish to leave."

Kagami made a small side-glance to the rest of the room behind him. Somewhere in the background, "Hmph, and I suppose you want me to throw this precious, priceless artifact in some nearby trash bin?"

"That's a pencil you named!" someone replied.

"…Nah," Kagami said, flashing a toothy grin, "I think I'll stay here."

"That's great!" Kitoshi exclaimed, clapping his hand over Kagami's back once more, who winced in pain, "Welcome to Seirin, Kagami and Kuroko!"

The aforementioned teal-haired man blinked twice, and though it was hardly noticeable, both Kagami and Hyuuga noticed the slight widening of his eyes, "…Thank you," he seemed breathless. Hyuuga frowned to himself, "Did you really think we'd forget you?"

The reply he got was a blank, unreadable stare – the kind that almost made the bespectacled man fidget in his seat, "Well…?"

"Haha, come on Hyuuga," Kiyoshi suddenly materialized from behind him, stupid grin on his face as usual, "Interrogation's no way to make a guy feel welcomed!"

"…," Hyuuga sighed, then lifted his lips towards Kuroko in an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Kuroko replied, quietly, voice barely above a whisper. Hyuuga smiled once more, and Kiyoshi's grin mellowed into something similar. Koga stood up, having witnessing the whole scene along with the other Seirin members present that day, and tromped his way to where Kagami and Kuroko sat, "Welcome, welcome! If you both need anything all you need to do is to ask me or any of the Seirin inmates, though we're not all present…"

"…Thanks, I guess," Kagami muttered, honestly confused as to why any sane man would just hand out their help like that to some stranger. For now, Kagami would have to keep his guard up around these people. They seemed nice, yes, no matter how rambunctious they were, but they weren't here because they were innocent.

Kagami couldn't trust anyone here. Not when everyone here had their hands stained.

"You said that not everyone was present," Kuroko spoke up, voice still quiet yet somehow still managing to snag the attention of the rambunctious group.

Koganei hummed while Mitobe seemed to be exchanging telepathically massages to him, "Well, yeah. There's only seven of us present out of the 25 or so members. We usually occupy at least 3 or 4 tables."

"That many? How do you even keep track of them all," Kagami asked Hyuuga, who only blinked in reply. Kagami squinted at him when the bespectacled man said, "…I don't."

"…You don't?"

"I don't," Hyuuga said, nodding towards Koga who started ruffling Kuroko's hair with something of an exasperated smile, "I don't think I'd be able to. That, and I'd go insane if I had to be in charge of these guys."

"I'll hold you to that," Kagami said, staring at Mitobe who seemed silently amused when Koga started laughing at Kuroko's newly found ridiculous bed-hair. Hyuuga sighed, and Kiyoshi turned his smile to Kagami, "Anyway. We'd appreciate it if you and Kuroko could come by again tomorrow. I haven't seen Koga smile like that for a while now…"

"…Maybe," the red-head said after a pause.

x.x.x

"You really came by," Hyuuga said, and Kagami scowled, "It was due to the overcrowded tables."

"…I think Kagami-kun should stop lying," Kuroko supplied from beside him, making Hyuuga and some hooded short figure jump half a foot in their seats, "We came here right after we got our lunch."

The red-head growled, "Be quiet!"

"…Huh," the hooded figure seated beside Hyuuga said, mouth curling into an amused smile, "You're right, Hyuuga-kun. They are just like children."

"Excuse me?!" Kagami broke away from his one-sided glaring match with the teal-haired man, swiftly swinging his burning gaze to the hooded figure. The laugh that followed in reply was unsettlingly female, "I'd never have figured that the Red Devil himself was so dramatic," turning to Kuroko, who Kagami noticed was sitting up straighter than usual, the figure smiled, "It's nice to see you again, Kuroko-kun."

Kuroko's lips twitched upwards, barely, "It's nice to see you too, Riko-san."

"Still so formal," Riko laughed, and Kagami's eyes bulged when a hand pulled the hood down to reveal the face of a woman with short-cropped brown hair, "You don't ever change, do you, Kuroko-kun?"

"I suppose not," Kuroko replied, voice soft. Riko smiled, then turned to Kagami, who gulped softly, "So you're Kagami-kun…?"

Her eyes roamed over his figure, making Kagami fidget a bit, "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded. Riko didn't seem to listen though, and her eyes practically sparkled, "Such stats! They're off the charts!"

She continued to gush over him after scaring the daylights out of both Hyuuga and Kagami when she jumped over the table, "Take off your shirt! I'll be able to do a better estimate!"

"NO!" Kagami scrambled away from her. Not at all fazed, Riko jumped down from the table just as Kuroko turned to Kagami and said, "Just get it over with already, Kagami-kun."

"And let that she-witch molest me?!"

"I'm not going to do anything, you pervert!" Riko snapped, "I just want to take down your stats!"

"Stats for what?!"

"Your physical stats," Kiyoshi chirped, materializing from somewhere behind a laughing Koganei, "I don't know if you've ever heard of her before but this is Aida Riko, informant and Den Mother of Seirin. She can take down your physical stats – like your strength, stamina, height, etcetera – just by looking at your chest."

"…How is that possible?" Kagami asked, and Kuroko spoke up once more, "Kagami-kun should just stop asking questions and take off his shirt already."

"Yeah," Riko said, ignoring his earlier outburst, "It's not like you have anything under there that I haven't already seen."

Kagami gawked at her.

Hyuuga sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Koga just threw his head back and laughed at it all.

x.x.x

Omake:

Seirin's Initiation : Part 1

In a dimly lit room somewhere in the bowels of the AMSP, a table has two hooded occupants seated across from each other, a single light bulb overhead.

"…Kuroko."

"Yes, Kagami-kun?"

"Why are we in dresses?"

"They're called cloaks."

"I still don't see why we're wearing them."

"Shush, Kagami-kun. Do it for the story."

"What story?!"

"I'm not permitted to tell you that."

Kagami scowled at him, ripping off the hood from his head, "Where are we anyway?"

Kuroko blinked, "I don't know."

"Welcome!" a voice thundered from somewhere. Which direction, though, Kagami couldn't figure out because it echoed all throughout the tiny room, "Brethren, both potential and seniors, today we are here because two, yes TWO, new inmates have come and inquired to bind themselves to us using the sacred Blood Pact-"

"Mitobe?"Kagami asked, incredulous at the straight-faced Seirin member, "What the hell…?"

Koga appeared from Mitobe's cloaked figure, "Play along Kagami-kun, please?"

"What the hell is this anyway?" Kagami demanded.

"Your initiation ceremony!"Riko chirped, flipping on the light switch. Blinking several times, Kagami gawked when he recognized the room.

"We're in the control room!?"

"Actually, we're in the auditory command room," Kuroko supplied, likewise taking off his hood, "I suppose this is an initiation to be actual members, Riko-san?"

"Sharp on the take as always, Kuroko-kun," Riko spun around to face the control boards, fists on her hips, "Now then-"

"I'm not doing some fucked up Blood Pact," Kagami said, flatly.

Riko blinked, then turned a raised eyebrow at a sweating Mitobe and Koganei, "…I'll deal with you two later," she sighed.

Then, she spun around to face Kagami and Kuroko once more, "Alright, time for the actual initiation! All you have to do," Riko grinned just as she thrust the microphone in front of Kagami's face, "Is speak every single thought you've ever had since you came here!"

Author's Note:

A short, rather boring chapter, I know. I'm sorry for posting this so late T.T Exam season is in the suffocating school air you see. Also, this is unbeta'ed, so if my readers would ever so kindly point out any mistakes in their reviews, I would appreciate it.

Next Chapter: The usual tack, tack, tack of the pick-axes swung against rocks were a bit of a norm with him. Just like the glares and whispers of both hatred and hidden admiration. It was all normal, and quite frankly Kise Ryouta was starting to get sick of it.

Thank you for reading, and have a Good Day :D