Chapter Summary: Akashi monologues how he manipulates his teammates like he manipulates the pieces in his shogi games.

Chp 5

Kuroko followed Akashi outside, leaving the bustling gym where the two aces bickered amongst themselves. "It'll just be a minute." Kuroko reassured Furihata, pointing him to the two rowdy men and giving him the impossible task of calming them down.

Akashi waited patiently, staring at the rising moon with his two heterochromatic eyes. "I'm here now, Akashi-kun. Explain yourself." Kuroko called behind him, sliding the gym door close for privacy. The redhead turned to him, a sadistic little smile slowly spreading onto his face. The sight of a moonlight Akashi smiling like that shocked him. It reminded Kuroko of the day Akashi personality split into two. That is not a day that he would liked to remember.

Akashi turned to the moon and begun his tale.

"The whole point of Teiko basketball club has always been about one; Victory. " he began. "My family and I knew this, and that is why I was sent there in the first place. You see Tetsuya, anything other than absolute perfection is unacceptable. That's just the type of family we are.

"So I joined the basketball with high expectations. I thought 'Surely all those praise that the school got was not baseless'. I was so wrong. When I joined the first string I didn't found the elite basketball team that I expected. In that exclusive gym, the heroes that was heraled by those magazines and scouts were nothing more than average players with an overenthusiastic love for the game." Akashi scoffed and shook his head, as if the memory of it was enough to offend him.

"Its pathetic how much mediocrity was in that gym. It sickened me. I was sure that I would have my hands full whipping these boys into shape, but then came Daiki." He turned into the gym, looking at the Aomine's aggressive figure fondly.

"I was happy that I had an ace. I can work with one and draw his full potential out to carry the team. After all, making use of my pawn is my specialty. However, more people like him begun to appear. Atsushi. Ryota. Shintarou. It was as if I was given ten generals in a game of shogi. With all of them I had more than enough resources to create the best basketball team that anyone could ever asked for.

"Of course, not everything went as I planned. Our 'team play' that worked well for the average players, stunted us. We were still better than other teams of course, but as long as we kept relying on each other we will never reach our full potential.

"So I began looking for a solution to help us evolve. Practice simply isn't enough, there has to be an external factor that triggers our growth. I studied Aomine, whose talent clearly outshined all of ours. Do you know what I found? I found that he didn't suddenly 'bloomed' like I thought. Someone's been taking care of him." Akashi smirked pointing his finger at Kuroko. "You."

Kuroko frowned at how Akashi accusations. "I was his shadow. It was natural for me to be take care of him." He retorted back nervously.

Akashi noticed Kuroko's uneasiness, enjoying the discomfort that he's causing the boy. "That's right. You two were just close friends, at least that are what I thought at first. After a while, it wasn't hard to find out how that you two are sleeping with each other."

The accusation silenced whatever protest Kuroko was ready to make. There's no use denying it. "Yes." Kuroko admitted, his head hanging low from the sheer shame and humiliation that Akashi is making him feel. The redhead ignored him and continued to speak, showing that he cares little for Kuroko's feelings.

"At first I was disgusted, but then I realized that Daiki played harder because you. He ran harder, jumped higher, dribbled faster just because he desperately want to impress you. It was as if your very existence drives him to excel, and the same goes for you as well. You, his shadow, look up to him as your light. Just as a shadow darkens when a light shined stronger, his very presence made you work hard. I would even go as far to say that without him, you would never got to play in a game.

"So I thought, maybe it's not all about training and drills. Maybe our relationships with each other are the catalyst to our talent. Still, even as our friendship progressed, nothing happened. We may be friends, rivals even, but we could never have what you and Daiki have for each other. Every time I tried to isolate us so we can work on ourselves individually, you're always in the way. You, the talentless sixth player were the one holding the team together, bringing us other closer, impeding our growth. You're like an annoying bug that I would just love to crush.

"I almost given up you know? I resigned myself to never leading the best team that I dreamed I could have. For a while, I was so wrapped in my own frustration that I became complacent and thought 'It's okay if we don't win. As long as we're having fun playing together.' Ha! I make myself sick when I think about that.

"Thankfully, something happened between you two that broke that cycle. One day you two were hanging off each other's arms, the next day you weren't even in the same side of the court. The change was palpable. You became more emotionally distant as your misdirection grew. Daiki began isolating himself and skipping practice, and against all logic, he became an even better player. It was then that my hypothesis was confirmed. We must abandon our teamwork.

"Without you and Daiki pulling the team together in your disgusting fake camaraderie, it was just a matter of time before the rest of the team clash. Atsushi began demanding to be treated the same way as Daiki. With no rival to spur him on, Ryouta begun to lost interest and started modeling again. Even the diligent Shintarou became more self absorbed in his three pointers. Our egos grew and with it our talent. Voila, in our third year, we became the team that is worthy of the Teiko's Jersey, a team that not only win, but destroys their competition. It was glorious." Akashi laughed and embraced Kuroko out of sheer delight. "It was all thanks to you." He said sadistically.

Kuroko took as step back. "No," He shook his head to deny that outlandish theory. "How could it be my fault. I tried my best to keep us all together. You were the who wanted us to hate each other, not me!"

Akashi stared at him calmly. "You're right, I didn't give you enough credit for that. You were the glue that kept us arrogant kids together." He admitted, walking closer to Kuroko so he can whisper into his ears. "But my dearest Tetsuya, if you didn't get greedy and told Daiki that you 'want to be official or just stay friends.' I wouldn't have the opening to isolate the rest of the team."

Kuroko "You even knew about that?" Kuroko asked, disturbed by Akashi's perfect knowledge of his relationship with Aomine. Can a teenage boy be this omniscient?

As if he could read Kuroko's thought, Akashi nodded and grinned. "Oh I knew everything about everyone. I knew that when you confessed to Daiki he rejected you. I also knew that the reason you started sleeping together was because he felt guilty for rejecting you! You realized that and out of sheer pride, you threw away your whole friendship!"

"I didn't!" Kuroko shouted. "I… I…I just wanted real love, not an occasional pity fuck that means nothing to him! Is it wrong to want that? Is it wrong to want to be loved!"

That ringing shout ended his whole tirade. Akashi had pushed Kuroko to his emotional limit, and now he's tittering on the edge. Kuroko have never been the expressive type, so he never really knows what would set him off.

"You've always ben so sensitive Tetsuya." Akashi sighed and patted his shoulder tiredly. "That whole rant almost made me feel guilty for spreading that rumor to your classmates."

It was then that Kuroko's trust in Akashi finally shattered. This man has never been his friend. He being whose sole purpose in life is to achieve and conquer whatever mountain he sets his foot on, and he will do so in the cruelest, most efficient way possible.

Seijirou Akashi is a real life monster.

Upon seeing Kuroko's horrified expression, Akashi couldn't stop himself from petting his head like a dog. "Please don't misunderstand me Tetsuya," He crooned. "I don't hate you. I'm actually quite fond of you. You're quiet, you're efficient, and you put everyone above yourself. You're the best pawn a king could ever ask for, so I hope I can give you some comfort telling you that your suffering is insignificant compared to the big picture."

Kuroko just laughed in disbelief at Akashi's genuine attempt at 'comforting' him. "Ha! What big picture? You ruined my last year at Teiko. All my classmates hated me, and my relationship with Daiki was ruined because of some misunderstanding that you made up! You may have the team of 'Miracles' you've always wanted, but but you ruined me and you ruined our team!"

"Tetsuya." Akashi shook him out of his tirade with a stern voice, pulling Kuroko to face him. Kuroko threw his gaze away as if the mere thought of looking at Akashi repelled him. "Stop being so childish and listen to me." He grabbed Kuroko's chin and turned it towards him forcefully.

"I thought you could understand. This is not about winning some middle school tournament. Its about this tournament.

"Without Daiki's ego, the rest of the team wouldn't have had any incentive to try and surpass him. Now that you're all at your best condition, and I can finally go and defeat all of you!" Akashi exclaimed, throwing his hands out and laughed maniacally. "Hahaha! Isnt it exciting Tetsuya? Is your heart beating as fast as mine? Look put your hand here! See? Just thinking about destroying you all makes me so-" Akashi groan. "-happy!"

Kuroko gazed at the moon, unable to bring himself to look at Akashi any longer. He wanted to shout at him, punch him, do something to hurt him, but it all just seems fruitless.

"… You're crazy." Kuroko said quietly, unclasping his hand away from Akashi's and began walking away. The redhead frowned in confusion.

"I don't get it Tetsuya. I thought you would be happy for me."

"Happy for you? After all of that you've told me?" Kuroko stopped and just stood there in disbelief. "I always knew that you're different that the rest of us, but I would never imagine you would be this twisted."

Akashi just tilted his head, unperturbed by the accusations. "If wanting to be the best is twisted then I guess I'm the most twisted person in the world."

Kuroko could've turned around and shouted out a clichéd declaration of war, but he knows better than that. People like Akashi will never understand any logic other than the one spinning in their delusional mind. They will never fear defeat for all they ever know is victory. So instead of petty words that will fall into deaf ears, he'll let his brand of basketball speak for him. He will win the winter cup, not just for his team's sake, but also for the sake of his old friend.

Akashi will taste defeat.

TBC

Next Chapter: As he reaches the limit of skills, Kuroko realized that he could not defeat Akashi on his current level. So he went to learn how to shoot from Aomine, how to drive from Kagami, and how to resist their temptations form Buddha the enlightened one.