Chapter 2
It wasn't... as bad as he had expected when he regained consciousness. In a way. It surely could have been worse and he was willing to take whatever small blessings there were, because the situation was more than bad. It was unacceptable. Yet, he had to accept it. For the time being.
In all honesty, he hadn't expected to actually regain consciousness at all. When his vision clouded and darkened he had known with all his being that this was the end. He felt himself falling to the ground even before Yukari delivered the final blow, but he didn't doubt the blow would soon follow. Except it apparently hadn't, because Kuroh Yatogami did wake up, in some sort of huge, artificial cavern.
He woke up to the sounds of cheerful, idle conversation and he easily traced it to the weird construction in the middle of the empty cavern: a room with one wall missing. A room that strongly reminded him of his home, except it was somewhat dingier, even messier than what Neko has managed to achieve. Before he had the time to take stock of the situation fully, his awakening has been noticed and Yukari walked up to him, gleefully explaining that "cute, little Kuroh" was now a hostage of the Green clan.
It could have been worse. He supposed. He could have been dead, for one. He should have been dead, but Yukari has spontaneously decided to bring Kuroh in, rather than killing him on the spot, as he has been ordered by the Green King. Kuroh didn't entirely understand his reasoning, although he gathered, from the discussions of the four Jungle members, that after a heated argument the Green King decided that a hostage might be useful. Yukari could have foreseen that.
Or he could have simply wanted a pretty toy to pass time until whatever it was the Green clan has planned to do. Kuroh's wounds have been treated. For every meal, he was given the same food the others were eating. And has even been allowed some time to rest, before Yukari gleefully announced they would train hand to hand combat. Well, it was more Yukari beating Kuroh up, at least until the cuts Kuroh has received back on the bridge have healed enough to allow him proper freedom of movement.
Despite everything, he appreciated the "training" in a way. Focusing on Yukari's moves, avoiding, parrying, attacking required all his attention. His mind was empty except for the next blow, the next step and the next counter, with no place for the anger or humiliation that was eating him from the inside every other moment he spent as the "hostage". He was also getting better and better at reading his opponent.
As Yukari kicked out with his left leg, Kuroh ducked under the kick and came up immediately, when Yukari was facing partly away from him. Without hesitation, he plunged his elbow into his opponent's spine. It connected, but with less force than he would have liked, since Yukari was already moving away.
'Ho-oh, are you fighting for real, my cute, little Kuroh?' the older man mocked after he twisted away and stepped back. Kuroh didn't waste time to reply. Instead, he advanced and ducked under Yukari's punch. At the same time, he thrust his hand forward.
This time, his blow connected properly. He hit Yukari's solar plexus straight on, throwing his opponent backwards. Without thinking, Kuroh jumped in the same direction, to deliver another blow.
He was halfway there when pain exploded, radiating from his neck, making him gasp, stumble and fall to the ground. He clawed at his neck, helplessly trying to make it stop, unable to move or get up.
A solid kick send him flying backwards, crashing violently against the hard floor, but at least the pain stopped. Kuroh lay on the floor, gasping, watching how Yukari advanced. A scowl has replaced his usual, gloating smirk and Kuroh slowly became aware of the loud laughter echoing in the cavern.
'He got you good this time, Yukari. It's the first one, no? Your junior is catching up, so watch out,' Sukuna Gojo exclaimed, his tone amused and mocking in equal parts. A flash of fury gleamed in Yukari's eyes as the words echoed, followed by more laughter. He took out something that looked like a small remote control and Kuroh suddenly got a very bad feeling about the situation.
He didn't have to wait long for a confirmation of his feeling. Yukari pressed a button without hesitation and the pain, radiating from Kuroh's neck, exploded again. He screamed.
Blinding, debilitating pain. Forcing tears to his eyes. Tearing the scream from his lips. It felt like it lasted forever before it disappeared as fast as it came, leaving him breathing heavily, still unable to move, barely aware of the voices around him.
'Now, now, Yukari,' came the lazy drawl of the bizarre priest. The man has apparently come up to Yukari and has taken the remote from him. 'You are the one who has brought this boy here against orders and you are the one who wanted to train hand to hand combat with him. Don't be a sore loser.'
'How unattractive,' Sukuna Gojo goaded, very obviously thrilled by the situation. A flash of fury glowed in Yukari's eyes again and Kuroh was very glad that the other man had the remote in his hand and not Yukari.
'Indeed,' Yukari said with a small smile, obviously having composed himself. He kneeled next to Kuroh and patted his head. His voice took on the patronizing tone Kuroh hated the most when he added: 'Well done, my cute, little Kuroh. Next time I'll make sure to not go easy on you.'
With that, he left, going back to the "room". The weird priest who looked strangely familiar followed, shaking his head in resignation. Kuroh watched them go and settle down as though nothing has happened.
He hated the "training". It always ended in the same way: Yukari managed to pull him beyond the perimeter allowed by the collar-like contraption firmly fitted around Kuroh's neck. Stepping even five centimetres over the perimeter activated the device that has been designed to somehow restrain Kuroh's aura and prevent him from escaping. The latter was assured by sending something that felt very much like an electric shock, provoking pain so strong that Kuroh couldn't even move to return back to the perimeter.
He found that out the hard way, the first time everybody but the wheelchair-bound Green King have gone out for missions: he has tried to pick up his precious sword, which they kept in plain view, on "his" edge of the "room". It was just out of the perimeter. So close that he could almost brush the sword with the tips of his fingers a second before the restraining collar activated. It was completely inaccessible. He wasn't even sure how long he has spent screaming and clawing at his neck before he passed out from pain. When he regained consciousness, he was back inside the perimeter and his neck was stinging with disinfectant somebody has put on the bloody scratches he has inflicted upon himself. He has tried getting Kotowari two more times, each time running faster than before, hoping to grab the katana before the collar activated, but it always ended the same way.
It was disheartening, if not entirely surprising, to learn that they could activate the device manually.
'It just occurred to me,' the Green King started, in a light tone. The other three seemed to ignore him, but he continued anyway. 'That what Yukari is doing here is training his cute junior student to be stronger and I wonder if this is really the right thing to do. The Black Dog was from the beginning stronger even than Sukuna-'
'Hey, take that back,' the annoying kid protested, hands on his hips.
'But if he can also defeat Yukari then who will stop him?' the Green King continued without skipping a beat.
'Take it back, Nagare,' Sukuna complained, but was ignored again.
'It's not like he can get away, can he?' Yukari pointed out flippantly. Kuroh pretended he didn't notice the mocking smile the Green King sent his way as he said that it was true and Kuroh was "helplessly trapped".
'I want to fight the Black Dog, I'll prove to you that I'm stronger,' Sukuna Gojo jumped up, hands fisted tightly.
'After dinner,' the priest announced firmly, before anybody else, including Kuroh, could react to what Sukuna said.
Rather than listening to the ensuing bickering, Kuroh slowly started picking himself up, ignoring the protests of his bruised body. Nothing seemed to be broken or seriously damaged, for which he was grateful. He wasn't sure what the Green clan would have done with a broken bone, or if they would have even done anything at all.
It was harder to ignore the feeling of humiliation that overwhelmed all his thoughts even if the Green clansmen seemed to pay him no attention. He has lost the fight with Yukari and has gotten himself captured, leaving Neko completely unprotected and alone, breaking the promise he made to Shiro. He became Yukari's plaything, helpless to get out and make use of all the information he has learned about the Green clan which didn't bother at all to hide their plans from him. Truly, he was a disappointment.
Perhaps that was why Shiro hasn't shown up to save him. He knew that it had been the Green King's plan: to force the Silver King out of hiding by threatening his clansman's life. And now that his plan has failed, Yukari took great pains in always reminding Kuroh that he was apparently not important enough to be saved.
Because the Black Dog shouldn't have needed saving, Kuroh scolded himself internally, pushing the previous thought into the furthest corner of his mind.
Or because the Silver King hasn't survived that incident after all.
Kuroh swallowed thickly as that thought crossed his mind. It was the worst of them all and the hardest to push away, so he welcomed even the small distraction of the bowl filled with fried rice being placed in front of him. Politely, glad that his voice wasn't shaking or unsure, he thanked the priest who brought it.
'Whatever, kid, enjoy your meal,' the priest said. It sounded like he wanted to add "it's not like we're gonna starve you" and not for the first time Kuroh wondered about the Green clan. In the empty cavern, he had nothing to do but watch them, so he did.
He watched them bicker like brothers, sometimes forgetting they were not a family. He watched them cook and eat and discuss random topics, reminding him of the brief time he has spent with Shiro and Neko. He watched them care for each other, the way Master Ichigen has cared for him. He watched them plan the theft of the Dresden Slate for a reason that seemed to be so obvious to them they have never mentioned it out loud yet.
With a resigned sigh, he picked up the bowl and took a spoonful of the rice. It wasn't bad.
'We have a new, interesting player, by the way. I've been waiting for him to show up,' Nagare Hisui spoke up at some point, his voice breaking the monotone of spoons clattering gently against the bowls. Kuroh glanced up from his food and almost dropped the bowl when he saw the glum face staring from the user profile the Green King has pulled up.
Saruhiko Fushimi.
'Oh? Sceptre 4's third-in-command?' the priest said unnecessarily. Hisui laughed quietly. Where the priest looked and sounded suspicious, the Green King seemed amused. Kuroh would swear his eyes were sparkling with excitement.
'What's a filthy Blue doing in the Jungle?' Sukuna growled.
'Isn't he a person who has already betrayed the Red King to join the Blue King?' Yukari asked rhetorically, his tone bored. To Kuroh it was obvious what he was implying and an unpleasant feeling, a sickening worry, washed over him.
'He stated in one of the forums that his annoyed at his boss looking to release some frustration,' Nagare said, obviously choosing to answer Sukuna's question. 'Right afterwards he took on a mission to beat up some random guy,' he added. Kuroh gritted his teeth, forcing himself to not move or make a sound and remain forgotten by the Green clan.
'Some people are abusing the system,' the priest complained after Nagare provided further information. It appeared that some of the higher rank players wanted to get revenge on a guy who has stolen his girlfriend. So he used some of his points to create a middle-ranking mission: beat up the "annoying asshole". And Fushimi took it.
'The rules allow it, so it's not abusing anything,' Yukari pointed out, this time sounding amused.
'Doesn't he get enough action at work?' Sukuna grumbled, hands crossed and a very childish pout on his face.
'It seems that Saruhiko Fushimi has been assigned a boring mission two days ago,' Nagare spoke after a moment. It was both worrisome and pitiful that he could hack the police computers with such ease, Kuroh thought. 'He is assigned to accompany a student-' the Green King paused and laughed.
'What is it?' the priest asked.
'They are studying the Dresden Slate,' Nagare announced, laughing some more afterwards. 'Reisi is probably desperate for something that will give him an edge over the other Kings, how precious. Shall we show him how utterly pointless it is?' he asked.
Note: "cute, little Kuroh" is my way of getting across "Kuroh-chan" without actually using the "chan".