I'm done with chapter 5! In truth, I haven't created a plot so I'm still not quite sure how to continue the story. I guess I'll just go with the flow for now. Do please inform me on how you like the chapter through reviews! I apologize if Kuroko and Akashi appeared to have not liked each other a lot. I hope this chapter mellowed it down a bit. I shall try to update more throughout Winter Break.
Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.
Chapter 5: Acquaintanceship
Throughout the next few days that followed, Kuroko did not see Prince Akashi again. She did, however, come into further acquaintance with the four other princes within the Rakuzan court.
Once again, she had met the Prince of Shuutoku in the palace library, and this time, the two read together for a while before the prince walked her back to her pavilion. Along the way, she can feel his eyes following her movements, trying to make sense of her, trying to look past her emotionless façade. He failed to find anything worth judging with, though, as, if there is one thing Kuroko prided on the most, it would be her ability to remain calm and emotionless no matter the circumstances.
Finally, as the two arrived near the pavilion, he inquired, "What do you think of Rakuzan so far, Princess Kuroko?"
Kuroko hesitated in her steps as she considered the question carefully before she gave her replied, "It's been nice so far. I enjoyed the library and the welcome immensely."
"Is that so?" Midorima trailed off as the two arrived at the pavilion.
They bid each other farewell a formal farewell. Before Midorima left, though, he had asked if they could meet in the library again, to which Kuroko complied. They agreed to meet once every three days unless they are busy. Kuroko felt a bit happy with this arrangement. She had little to do in the palace after all. It is nice to have someone to keep her company.
She did not expect herself to receive so much company, though.
Kuroko couldn't help but take back her opinion on having company the very next day.
That morning, the Prince Murasakibara came to the pavilion for breakfast. Kuroko wouldn't have minded, except for the fact that he stayed for the whole day. Breakfast dragged on for two hours with Kuroko having to wait for Murasakibara to finish indulging his appetite. Once that was over, he had complained about being exhausted and proceeded to lay down for a nap, causing her maids to hurriedly place blankets over the giant. Kuroko could only sigh and take out a book to read as she waited for her guest to awaken again.
As the sun reached its peak, Murasakibara slowly rose. His stomach growled as he glanced around drowsily. This led him to look at Kuroko hopefully. Kuroko felt her eyebrow twitch a tiny bit in annoyance as she indicated for a servant to go and prepare another meal.
As Murasakibara ate, Kuroko continued to read her book. Once finished, she placed it down on her table before getting her embroidery out to dabble with. She concentrated hard on the needlework, not noticing the curious stare she was given by the Prince of Yosen. However, she did notice the sudden weight upon her back as the prince slumped over her to look at what she was doing. As if that wasn't enough, the sudden weight caused her body to jerk in surprise, her finger grazing along the needle. She stared at the small cut created by the contact, watching as a thin line of scarlet blood formed along the opening. The dark red liquid. So much like-
"Ah," Murasakibara cried out tonelessly as he saw the cut, interrupting Kuroko's train of thoughts. "Sorry." He apologized.
Before Kuroko could understand what was happening, Murasakibara had taken her finger and placed it in his mouth. She eyes widened in shock as she froze in place, unsure of what to do. After her mind processed what was happening, she quickly snatched her hand back and covered it with her sleeve. The purple-haired prince and the princess stared at each other for a very long time before Kuroko finally commented, "You are quite childish, Prince Murasakibara."
Murasakibara tilted his head as if he was confused. This led Kuroko to believe that her judgement was correct.
Murasakibara frowned, "I'm not childish, Kuro-chin. I'll crush you for that."
Yep. Definitely childish.
Murasakibara did not stay for dinner, much to her chiefs' and Riko's relief.
Kuroko did not have a peaceful sleep that night. She still felt a bit shaken by the cut. She couldn't stand the sight of blood. It reminded her too much of that time. She had thought that she had overcome the fear, but it appears she was wrong. Kuroko had only suppressed it. Kept it hidden within the depth of her memory, but it was still there, lurking in the shadows, never letting her forget its existence.
With such a fitful sleep, it is no wonder that Kuroko woke up in a terrible mood. It didn't help when the Prince of Kaijo suddenly came to visit either. On a normal day, Kuroko might have enjoyed having someone energetic like him for company, but today was not that day. It appears that he paid no heed to what Kuroko might have wanted, and yapped on happily as he dragged her off to the training ground.
For a few second, Kuroko pondered over how surprisingly informal Murasakibara and Kise are. They are all so unlike how they were during the meeting Akashi arranged where everyone had appeared a bit stiff.
Upon arriving at the giant arena, Kuroko noticed that the Prince of Touou was there as well.
"Hey, Aomine-chi!" Kise called out to him excitedly, continuing to pull Kuroko along, much to the latter's annoyance.
Aomine turned around and shouted back, "You're late, Kise! What were you doing?"
"Sorry." Kise panted as he came to a halt in front of the other prince, "I decided to bring Kuroko-chi along!" Pouting, he complained, "Midorima-chi and Murasaki-chi had gotten to spend time with her already the days before so I thought we should get to know her as well."
Aomine paused a bit upon hearing Kise calling Kuroko with his weird honorific. It was unusual for the Kaijo Prince to respect someone so quickly, but Aomine could understand why he willingly called her with the special honorific reserved for the ones he respect. The Seirin Princess was intriguing, there's no doubt to that if she could catch Akashi's attention. Despite her weak looking stature and the fact that she is a female, Aomine felt that she resemble the Rakuzan Prince. He can't seem to put his finger on why that is, though, as the two appear quite different as well.
Kise seem to have become interested in the princess, much more so than the rest of the group at least. Aomine couldn't decide if Kise has a death wish or if he's just plain oblivious to the fact that the moment Akashi chose her, she was off limits. Most might say that Aomine is an idiot, but he is not as blind as most might believe. Growing up as a prince did help with that.
"Hey," Aomine grunted, "why did you bring the Princess of Seirin along as well?"
"Eh?" Kise turned his attention back to Aomine, having been fussing over Kuroko for a while, "Well, I thought it might interest her."
Aomine scoffed, "Interest her? She's a princess. There's no way she would be-"
"Actually," Kuroko cut Aomine off, "I'm interested."
Aomine gave Kuroko an annoyed look as Kise looked at him triumphantly. Kuroko didn't appear fazed as she continued, "In fact, I was wondering if you can teach me."
This cause both the Princes to freeze, not that Kuroko noticed as she had already walked over to the stack of weapons to examine them. Women are discouraged to touch weapons even as commoners, let alone royals. While there isn't a specific rule against such action, it's frowned upon by society.
Aomine couldn't help but smirk as he asked, "Are you sure you want to, Princess?"
Kuroko's eyes narrowed at Aomine's tone as she replied, "Please don't underestimate me, Prince of Touou."
Kise could only watch worriedly as both headed into the arena. He finally started to reconsider his choice of bringing her to the training grounds. Maybe it's not such a good idea after all.
"Do please show me what you can do, Princess." Aomine grinned playfully, getting into a rather relaxed stance.
Kuroko frowned as her eyebrow twitched at the condescending way Aomine talked to her but didn't say anything. Crouching down into position, her eyes became completely blank as she focused. Her left hand pulled her dress up a bit as she pulled out the hairpin from her hair with her right. She quickly scanned Aomine, searching for any weak points to attack on.
Aomine almost shivered at the chill that suddenly evaded his spine. He stared at the Seirin Princess in surprise before a grin reappeared on his face. Maybe this fight won't be as boring as he thought.
The two started to circle each other slowly. Kise couldn't help but see a predator readying to capture its prey in the way Aomine and Kuroko moved; Aomine is the predator, and Kuroko is the prey. He stared at the scene nervously, ready to run in if needed.
It appears his concern was for naught as Kuroko made the first move to charge forward. Aomine quickly followed to block, only to blink in disbelief as she disappeared right before his eyes. Kise watched the scene with wide eyes as well, since Kuroko had disappeared from his sight too. Quickly he started to scan the arena like Aomine, trying to find the Princess. They have attracted a lot of attention by now, so all the soldiers had stepped off to the side to watch the fight. Many had even placed bets, although most are placed on Aomine.
The Prince of Touou had also become frantic in his search of the princess. He should be able to find her on the arena. The flat ground gave very little, if any, room to hide. However, his efforts were in vain as the princess seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Having no other choice, he closed his eyes and tried to find the princess's presence instead. Yet, even then, there was nothing around him.
Just as he was about to give into his frustration, a flash of light blue caught his eye. He quickly turned around only to find the tip of the sharp hairpin at the center of his neck. The entire training ground fell into silence as everyone froze, trying to let the outcome of the match sink in.
When it did, panic fell upon the crowd. Kuroko ignored it all as she commented to Aomine, "It looks like I won."
Aomine felt deadly calm as he replied, "Yea."
She retrieved her hand and placed the pin in her hair again, albeit with more difficulty. Seeing that she had retrieved her weapon, Aomine relaxed a bit. As expected, Kise was the first to snap out of the trance and rush up to congratulate Kuroko. To both of the princes' horror, Kuroko abruptly fainted. A pair of arms caught her before her body made contact with the ground. Kise and Aomine followed the arms up and couldn't help but gulp.
Kuroko slowly opened her eyes to see fuzzy images. Blinking them a few times to focus, she found herself staring at a roof. Looking around the room, she briefly noted the unfamiliar furniture and decorations. As she started to gather her senses, the door to the room slid open.
"So you are awake." A familiar red-haired figure spoke from the doorway.
Kuroko stared at Akashi for a moment before she answered, "Yes Prince Akashi."
Kuroko tried to sit up, but the moment her head left the pillow, the room spun so much she had to lay her head back down.
"Rest." Akashi commanded rather softly, "You fainted from exhaustion."
"I see." Kuroko commented.
The click of a tea tray coming in contact with the table fell upon her ears. She turned to watch Akashi pour the tea into the small cups. To see the Prince of Rakuzan doing such a simple task was a good change from the usually cold Akashi. Kuroko felt her eyelids fell as she watched the serene scene before her, a small smile gracing her lips as she fell asleep.