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The squeaking sound of basketball shoes echoed throughout the basketball court as the first-string members trained for the tournament to qualify for Inter-High Preliminary.
With Haizaki suspended from school and Kise not yet ready to be a regular, the remaining regulars of Teiko had to train extra hard to make up for the drop in strength.
While Teiko Basketball club prioritises winning above all else, poor character is something both the club and the school will not tolerate. To the principal of Teiko, the constant victory that the basketball club brings serves as good publicity. However, Haizaki’s delinquency would bring a bad reputation to the school.
When Akashi reported the incident to the school’s discipline master, the school principal immediately wrote a recommendation letter for the school board to have Haizaki expelled.
It irked Akashi a little to know that Haizaki was expelled not because he was being a threat to the students but because it would be bad for the reputation of the school. Though, so long as Kuroko and the other students were no longer being bullied by Haizaki, he had no problems with it.
It had been a month since the incident, but Kuroko is still being called down by the discipline master to talk about it as the victim.
After the phone call Akashi had with Kuroko’s former caretaker, Akashi had immediately arranged for Kuroko to be placed in the care of the Akashi household and for the caretaker to be fired. His father, Masaomi, had no qualms with the arrangement so long as Akashi kept up with his expectations without fail. The stubborn Kuroko had initially made a fuss out of it until Akashi assured him that it would be easier for everyone. With Kuroko doing so much better than the rest of his class in academics, Kuroko has been transferred to 3A, the same class as Akashi. Akashi couldn’t ask for any better.
Usually, when Kuroko had nothing to do, he would stay in the classroom to review his class notes or read a book while waiting for Akashi to finish his basketball practice. This time, however, he decided to wait for Akashi in the court instead.
The heat of the court, bouncing of the ball and the swishing of the net was something that Kuroko had missed greatly. He longed for the feel of the ball in his hand, the dribbling and having fun with his teammates. He might not have been a good player, but he still loved basketball unconditionally. He wondered if Akashi would let him play after practice. Even if that was not possible, Kuroko still wished to bask in the feeling of being in the court.
Despite what he told himself, that was not enough. The sound of dribbling, squeaking and swishing wasn’t enough to satisfy him. He needed to touch the ball. From the sounds of it, Akashi didn’t seem to be in the court. Kuroko took the chance to reach for a ball in the basket and dribble it. Even though he couldn’t see the ball, he can somehow ‘see’ it through the vibrations against the floor. Strangely enough, Kuroko dribbled better than he could when he still had his sight.
“Hey! Watch out!” Aomine’s voice yelled out when a basketball flew towards Kuroko’s direction.
Almost instinctively, Kuroko dropped his walking stick to catch the ball with his palm, turned a round before returning the ball back to Aomine with eerie accuracy.
Aomine caught the ball, stupefied, “T-that was freaking awesome man, how did you do that?!”
__________
Akashi was exhausted. Due to the Haizaki incident, his duties as the student council president, witness and basketball captain had been upped by a lot. As both the student council and witness, Akashi had to collate reports of the incident and the other victims of Haizaki’s with the discipline master to support Haizaki’s expulsion. As the basketball captain, Akashi has had meetings with both the first-string coach and head coach about the dip in strength caused by Haizaki’s absence. That grey-haired male always caused troubles whether he was there or not.
He had just left the meeting with the coaches, promising to keep a look up on promising members and getting Kise ready for the position of a regular. However, Akashi knew that Kise alone wasn’t enough to cover the dip in strength.
What Teiko needs right now was a sixth man that can change the flow of the game when necessary. However, without knowing exactly what kind of sixth man he is looking for, he has no way of convincing the coaches of the possibilities.
Akashi sighed and ran a hand through his crimson hair. Maybe he would have a one-on-one with Midorima after training to clear his mind.
As he walked into the basketball court, Akashi frowned. Instead of practicing, the regulars were crowding around chatting. Silently, he walked towards the bunch of rainbow coloured people. Before he could even open his mouth to reprimand, a blur of light teal collided into him.
“Akashi-kun!” The blur of teal exclaimed.
Akashi’s arms embraced the blur out of instinct and shock, a series of questions and observations going through his mind.
One, Kuroko is in the basketball gym.
Two, Kuroko knew it was Akashi without the latter making a single sound.
Three, Kuroko knew Akashi’s exact position without the aid of the walking stick.
Akashi looked down at the shivering boy who had his head buried into his chest.
“Kuroko?” Akashi asked with caution.
“Whoa! Akashi! You know Tetsu? That guy is freaking good man!”
Akashi narrowed his eyes at the tanned male. “Aomine, watch your language. Also, kindly elaborate on the last part.” Akashi scolded, one hand raising to rub the nape of Kuroko’s neck to calm the boy.
“Tetsu returned a ball!” Was the only explanation Aomine offered.
Akashi sighed and resisted the urge to face palm himself. He only had himself to blame for expecting Aomine to offer a proper explanation.
“Basically, what Aomine is trying –”
Aomine nodded his head.
“—but failing miserably –”
“—Oi! Midorima you bastard!”
“– to say is that he missed a high-speed pass and it headed straight to Kuroko. Kuroko somehow managed to catch it and pass it back to Aomine (nanodayo).” Midorima elaborated as he picked the walking stick up and hand it to Akashi.
Ah. Trust Midorima to provide him with the proper explanation.
“Damn you Midorima, it’s not exactly my fault that Tetsu was being so silent like a ghost! Even you didn’t notice that he was there until I shouted, even though you were classmates. And besides, do you really have to add–” Whatever complaints Aomine had after that were tuned out by Akashi as he looked down at the boy still buried into his chest.
Kuroko caught a ball and passed it back to Aomine. Kuroko, a blind kid, caught a ball, and successfully passed it back. Coupled with his low presence, Kuroko might just be the sixth man that Teiko needed. But…
“Akashi-kun…?” Kuroko lifted his head and softly asked when Akashi made no responses.
Akashi immediately snapped out of his thought. “Midorima, continue to watch over the practice. There is something else that I need to attend to.”
Leaving Midorima with just those instructions, Akashi thrust the walking stick into Kuroko’s hand and dragged him out of the court.
__________
Why isn’t he saying anything?
Is he mad at me?
Is this because I was in the court instead of the classroom?
Is Akashi-kun going to hate me now?
“A-Akashi-kun, I-I am sorry, I won’t do it again! I promise! So please don’t hate me!”
Akashi’s silence was driving Kuroko insane. Without his sight, Kuroko can’t tell what Akashi was thinking without him saying a word and it was causing him to panic.
“Akashi-kun, I am sorry! I really am! Please—!”
Kuroko was silenced by the finger on his lips when Akashi stopped to face Kuroko once they were of safe distance from the court.
“Relax, Kuroko. I am not angry at you. Tell me what happened from the beginning.”
Kuroko relaxed a little at hearing Akashi’s soothing and not-angry voice.
Akashi-kun’s tone indicated curiosity instead of anger or annoyance.
With that knowledge in mind, Kuroko began a recount of what had happened. He talked about how he had missed basketball, how he wanted to bask in that atmosphere again. He explained about how he dribbled the ball with better accuracy that when he still had his sight, and how Aomine’s voice boomed and alerted him of the incoming ball.
As he explained, Kuroko got more and more excited and animated, and Akashi couldn’t help but to smile at how cute and endearing that was.
“Alright, alright Kuroko, I get it,” Akashi laughed at his excitement. “I have a proposal for you, Kuroko. With Haizaki suspended, we suffer a drop in strength. Kise would no doubt fill the space left by Haizaki, but even so, that is not enough.
“What Teiko needs right now is a sixth man who can turn the tide of the match. Maybe polish your skills a bit more and find a style that can both make use of your low presence and your new-found ability to sense the vibrations around. You might be just the sixth man we need. What do you think, Kuroko, about playing in a match with us?” Akashi explained with a small smile.
“Really, Akashi-kun?!” Kuroko exclaimed.
“Hmm? Have I ever lied to you?” Akashi laughed.
“Thank you Akashi-kun, I love you so much~!” Kuroko pounced onto the redhead.
Said redhead couldn’t help but to blush. While he knows that Kuroko’s exclamation of love was out of sheer happiness, those five words made Akashi’s heart leap dangerously.
As he struggled to keep his composure, Akashi tucked the bouncing-huggy Kuroko closer and ran a hand through the soft blue hair before burying his face in blue.
If Kuroko doesn’t stop being so cute…
__________
Akashi’s workload was becoming insane. With the Interhigh Tournament approaching, Akashi is constantly being asked to think of training proposals to up the levels of the regulars, providing them with individual training menus to enhance their individual skills. He was often seen with Momoi and the coaches discussing about their opponent strength as well as the growth of their own members.
Outside of the Basketball club, Akashi not only had to juggle between his projects and studies (not that he had issues to begin with) but also conduct studies groups for the weaker students of the school due to the approaching language proficiency test. In addition, Akashi arranged special study groups for the basketball club regulars – mainly the idiots of miracles, Aomine and Kise – due to the clashes between the tournament as well as the make-up lessons for failures of the proficiency tests. Knowing the two idiots, Aomine would do whatever it takes to get away from the study groups and Kise would listen to music while gathering useless wool[i]. To counter their predictable antics, Akashi had to personally attend their study group to make sure they are doing their work.
At home, Akashi was buried by the assignments and lessons Masaomi had 'to prepare him as the future heir’. In short, Akashi’s life was so hectic he barely had any time to check on Kuroko’s basketball training progress. When in school, Kuroko would either do self-study or practice his basketball at who knows where. Back home, Kuroko would be found in his own room reading or studying. Akashi felt bad for neglecting Kuroko, so he always made an effort to go to school and return from school together with the said boy. Their decreased interaction also gave Akashi some time to analyse his feelings for Kuroko. Though, to be fair, Akashi had never felt that way before – one couldn't blame him for needing time to think it through.
__________
It had been a while since Kuroko last had a proper chat with Akashi. With the approaching tests and tournaments, Kuroko barely manage to talk to Akashi beyond the usual greetings of ‘Good morning’s and ‘How’s your day’ which answer given would always be a simple ‘Fine’.
Kuroko felt slightly lonely without Akashi, but he understood better than anyone just how busy Akashi had been lately – and the reason for Akashi’s rather… eventful period could mostly be attributed to the elder Akashi.
Kuroko had mixed feelings for the elder Akashi. Akashi Masaomi is a firm but fair man. After hearing about Kuroko’s predicament and caretaker, Masaomi immediately filed a complaint to the care centre and arranged for Kuroko to be fostered by the Akashi family. He bought Kuroko new sets of school books and a brand-new laptop and phone with accessibility function to cater to his lack of sight. Upon learning about Kuroko’s love for books, Masaomi formed a partnership with a Braille-printing company in Japan to get them to print for any books Kuroko could possibly wish to read. Kuroko couldn’t be more than grateful, and all that Masaomi asked for in return is to keep his grades above average – which is hardly a problem for Kuroko – and to keep his son, Seijuurou, company. To ensure of the former, he frequently asked Kuroko if he needed extra help for his studies, even offering to find the best tuition teacher to tutor Kuroko’s weaker subjects. Kuroko might even call him a kind and generous person.
When dealing with his own son, however, it became a different story. Akashi Masaomi expected nothing less than perfection from his son. He would grudgingly give Seijuurou the freedom he wanted so long as he remained victorious above all else.
Kuroko still had no idea how he should view that man.
The only thing Kuroko liked about Akashi being busy is the fact that he could surprise Akashi with his newfound skill. Said skill did not come to him immediately. After being given a chance to be the sixth man for Teiko and receiving hints from Akashi on what he should work on, Kuroko went back thinking about how he could contribute to the team with the skills and limitations that he possessed.
What kind of basketball player would he be to put his low presence and the ability to sense the change in air and vibration into good use?
Teiko basketball club is blessed with regulars with perfect passes (Akashi), monstrous accuracy in three-pointers (Midorima), unrivalled agility (Aomine), instantaneous learner (Kise) and absolute defence (Murasakibara). Kuroko failed to understand why Akashi feels the need to have a sixth man on such a ridiculously strong team. No matter how one look at it, it seemed like a perfect team. So, what kind of basketball style should Kuroko adopt to be of use to such an amazing team?
Kuroko found the answer to that question while he was reading a book about magic tricks. The content of the book was about various famous magicians who had revealed some of their old tricks. Kuroko smirked at some of the more obvious tricks that he had long since figured out, but there is just that one magic trick that caught his attention: Misdirection.
If, just if, somewhere out there lies a team who was strong enough to have each of the Generation of Miracles on guard, then that is when a sixth man is needed to throw the opponents off-guard.
Kuroko could only hope that his theory was somewhere close to Akashi’s and that his answer would serve as a pleasant surprise to him.
__________
Now that the proficiency tests had come to an end, Teiko Basketball club was back to training at full steam. Of course, Aomine and Kise passed their tests with quite vibrant colours[ii], much to the shock of their teachers and to the amusement of Akashi. Then again, it is Akashi Seijuurou tutoring them, one should expect some miracles.
Akashi was in line doing his layup drills when –
“Oi Akashi!”
– their former captain who had graduated, Nijiimura Shuuzou, called for his attention.
Akashi did a smooth layup and swiftly caught his ball before heading towards Nijimura direction.
“You called, Nijimura-san?”
“You’ve got a guest,” He elaborated as he jabs at the space behind using his thumb.
Akashi craned his neck to see a rather shy and out-of-place Kuroko standing by the entrance of the court.
Cute… Akashi thought before he shook his head internally and headed towards Kuroko. As expected, Kuroko noticed him even before he uttered a word.
“Akashi-kun!”
Akashi couldn’t help but chuckle at how the Kuroko’s entire demeanour perked up with his cry of ‘Akashi-kun’.
“It’s been three months, Kuroko,” Akashi started with a smile in his voice, “shall we start the test then?” before he turned back to the court.
“Akashi-kun!” Kuroko grabbed the sleeves of Akashi’s shirt to get his attention. “If possible, could you watch me in a game?”
__________
The third string won with overwhelming victory. The third string, a group of first years and basketball newbies, versus the second string, which consists of much more experienced members who had played in practice matches before, and it was the third string’s overwhelming victory. The whole court was flabbergasted.
In addition, the ball curved with ridiculous accuracy, it was nothing anyone had ever witnessed. First string coach, Sanada, was initially incredulous that a blind boy could play basketball. Should the ball be passed into the opponents’ hands by accident – a mistake not tolerated in the first string, there would be serious consequences. Kuroko, however, proved coach Sanada wrong by recognising who his teammates were after running just one round around the court with them.
Akashi looked up to the second floor where head coach Shirogane Kouzou was watching the whole match. He smirked at the look of awe and interest on the head coach’s face. If head coach Shirogane has taken interest in Kuroko, not even coach Sanada would refuse both head coach Shirogane and Kuroko.
Akashi inwardly gave a pump of victory as he looked at the now dripping-with-sweat Kuroko with pride.
Kuroko, you did it.
__________
“Kuroko Tetsuya,” Coach Sanada instructed. “starting today, you will be assigned to the First String as a bench player. We look forward to seeing your contributions. Please submit your club form to our manager, Momoi Satsuki.”
The beaming smile Kuroko gave in return was blinding.
__________
With Kuroko’s passes in the basketball club, the Interhigh tournament was over with a breeze. Kuroko got along well with the other regulars of the club, especially with Aomine. Upon officially joining the club, Head coach Shirogane had been working closely with Kuroko for various strategies, the most well received being the Aka-Kuro-Ao combination.
The head coach had immediately realised that Kuroko could change the direction of the passes without changing the quality of the original pass, making Kuroko work extremely well with Akashi’s perfect rhythm plays. This enabled Kuroko to pass Akashi’s perfect passes to other teammates with little fear of interception from the opponent. And with Aomine being the ace of Teiko basketball club, Kuroko and Aomine’s teamwork was almost perfect.
Akashi couldn’t be any prouder of Kuroko. Before his joining of the Basketball club, Kuroko appeared to be living his life without actually living it. Now, Kuroko’s aura is no longer dull; it is as if he was enjoying every second of his life.
As the regulars of Teiko Basketball club were heading back to their changing room after their quarter-finals match, they were suddenly bombarded by reporters from Basketball monthly, much to the surprise of Aomine and Kise. However, due to his lack of presence, Kuroko was being pushed further and further away from his teammates by the reporters, much to his growing panic. He tried listening for Akashi’s voice, hearing for his footsteps, but with the number of unfamiliar people gathering around him, it got harder and harder to hear for the tone he was searching for.
As time passed, his panic grew. Almost too quickly, the voices around him were reduced to mere buzzes and mere buzzes were eventually drowned out by the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Calm down, calm down Kuroko Tetsuya. If you stay calm and listen, you will be able to hear for Akashi-kun’s voice. Breathe in… Breathe out… Breathe in… Breathe out…
Kuroko took a deep breath to shout for Akashi, only to have the words stuck in his throat.
Kuroko let out a small whine as he strived to keep his breathing as evenly as possible. He clenched onto his walking stick and brought it close to his heart. He had to stay calm. The crowd may have caused him to lose track of his position, but if he stayed calm, he should be able to find his way back to the Teiko changing room… probably… and then he could look for his phone… and then he could call for Akashi.
Yes, Akashi would help him, Akashi would always find him. After all, Akashi’s precious omamori is still around his neck. For as long as the omamori is with him, Akashi would always come back for him. That’s what Akashi had said; that’s what Akashi had promised – Akashi would always be back for him.
But… but what if he didn't manage to find his way back to the changing room? What if nobody came to look for him? What if he had been forgotten? What if… he’d never get to see Akashi again? No no! He doesn’t want that. He wants to be with Akashi, he wants to stay with Akashi forever, he wants to grow old with Akashi together, he doesn't want a life without Akashi, he…
Kuroko didn’t know when his ‘even breathing’ had changed to ‘deep, rapid but even’ – he only noticed it when he felt blood draining away from his face and limbs. He felt dizzy and was beginning to sway on his feet but even so, Kuroko forced one of his hands to pull out the omamori and gripped it tightly, as if doing so would summon Akashi.
Kuroko yelped in fear when he felt a pair of hands grab his shoulder. Somehow, he had ended up kneeling on the ground in the midst of his panic attack. He tensed further when he felt the arms that belonged to the same hand wrap around him. Kuroko struggled feebly until a smooth and familiar voice spoke beside his ear.
“Shh… Don’t worry Kuroko, I am here. You are safe now.”
Kuroko felt all the tension melting away as he slumped against the warmth, breathing in the scent that was Akashi and sweat.
“A…kashi-kun” Kuroko croaked as he had an arm wrapped around Akashi, bring himself closer to the redhead while his other arm continued to hold on to both his walking stick and the omamori.
The redhead looked down at the hand clenching the omamori with a passive face before cupping his over the pale hand and squeezing it.
“I am here.” Akashi whispered again before bringing the hand under Kuroko’s knees and lifting the boy up.
“I am bringing you to the changing room, Kuroko. You will feel better once we get there.”
Before he left, Akashi turned back to look at the crowd of people that was the reporters and the Generation of Miracles. When Midorima made eye contact with him, Akashi gave a silent order to watch over things, to which Midorima responded with a grim nod.
Akashi smiled. Midorima cared for Kuroko, even if he was too much of a tsundere to admit it.
__________
Akashi was helping Kuroko dry up when he heard the regulars coming in.
“Those reporters were intense man… and Akashi and Tetsu somehow managed to get away.”
“Where did Akashicchi and Kurokocchi go anyway? I didn’t see them leave at all.”
“Akashi and Kuroko went ahead to the changing room-nanodayo. I saw Akashi leaving.”
Akashi sighed. “Kuroko, the others would be coming in soon, are you able to handle the rest?”
Kuroko wordlessly took over drying himself just as the door to the changing room opened.
“Ah! It’s Akashicchi and Kurokocchi! Midorimacchi was right! Leaving us to deal with the scary reporters alone, how mean of you, Akashicchi!”
“Hm, unlike you guys, I actually have a lot to do.” Akashi smirked before his face turned serious as he faced the green haired boy. “Midorima, I am going to talk to our coach about our transportation home so watch over things over here.”
“Akashi, you are not going back with us?”
“No,” Akashi lowered his voice. “After what happened today, I believe it is best that Kuroko get home as quickly as possible.”
“Hm, take good care of Kuroko-nanodayo, Akashi. What happened just now would be traumatizing for anyone, let alone for someone who is blind.”
“I don’t need you to tell me that,” Akashi smiled and then he smirked. “anyway Midorima, despite all that you said, you really do care about Kuroko’s wellbeing don’t you.” Akashi smirked as he walked away.
Midorima made a flustered noise before responding. “Don’t be ridiculous, Akashi. I merely thought that things would be difficult without Kuroko around is all!” He looked back only to see Akashi waving his words away as he headed off further into the corridor.
“And besides,” Midorima muttered as he adjusted his glasses before entering the changing room himself. “you look happier with Kuroko around.”
__________
“Hey Tetsu!” Aomine squatted in front of Kuroko as the latter put his towel away into his sports bag that was by his side on the bench. “What are your true feelings for Akashi? Ye like him, don’t cha?”
“What?! Kurokocchi is in love with Akashicchi?!” went ignored by everyone.
“W-what are you talking about, Aomine-kun. Please stop teasing me.” Came the teal-head’s reply with a blush.
“C’mon, Tetsu, we all know how you look at Akashi: when he is around, you look all sparkly and bright, when he is gone, you look like a sad and lonely puppy, like now.” The navy blue teased.
“That’s true!!! Oh no!!! Akashicchi is going to steal away my beloved Kurokocchi away! But Kurokocchi doesn’t really like Akashicchi like that, right? Right?!”
“Kise-kun, please calm down, it’s not true. Besides, even if it is, it’s not like Akashi-kun would like guys.”
“I-i-i-i-if?! You mean there are chances that you would like Akashicchi? Oh no Kurokocchi! Don’t lose your innocence to the devil!” Went ignored again.
“Nah, I don’t think Akashi cares whether you have boobs or not. So long as you have caught his attention, I don’t think Akashi cares. Right, Midorima.”
“Leave me out of this-nanodayo. And hurry up and get dressed, Aomine!”
“Yes yes,” Aomine sighed as he stood up to grab his towel. “But Tetsu, if you really do feel that way, act soon. Akashi is pretty popular too! Me and Kise will support you all the way!”
“Kurokocchi…” Came the whine as Aomine dragged Kise to their respective lockers, leaving Kuroko alone with his thoughts.
Do I really like Akashi-kun?
__________
He wasn’t sure when it happened, but somehow while staying with him, Kuroko started changing the way he called him: from ‘Akashi-san’ to ‘Akashi-kun’.
During the first time they met, Akashi helped Kuroko because Kuroko was in trouble, and because Akashi was the student council president. That too, somehow changed from Kuroko being a ‘fellow student’ to someone he wants to protect.
Akashi never realised it, that is until his father called for him.
“I don’t care about your sexual preferences,” Masaomi had told his son. “as long as you continue to excel in both letters and arms I have no complains.”
Akashi was left confused as to why his father would suddenly brought up the topic about his sexuality. In order to find out what is it that led to the conversation before, Akashi decided to ask around.
“Anything that has changed? Ah! Young Master Seijuurou seemed more cheerful ever since Kuroko-sama came! Right?” One of the maid turned her heads to the other.
“Right! Young Master, fight!” The other maid cheered before both of them bowed respectfully to Akashi and returning to their respective chores.
Even the maids noticed the difference, doesn’t that mean I am interested in Kuroko like that?
__________
He doesn’t know how it changed, but he somehow started calling Akashi ‘Akashi-kun’ instead of ‘Akashi-san’, and neither did he realise he harboured feelings for Akashi until Aomine teased him about it just now.
But knowing his feelings for Akashi wouldn’t change anything. Wouldn’t he only bring more trouble for Akashi? Akashi is already kind enough to let him stay in the Akashi mansion. Could he still ask for more? Would he only hold Akashi back?
I don’t think I can confess to him…
__________
The car ride home from the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium[iii] was quiet as both boys were lost in their own thoughts; Kuroko thinking about the conversation he had with Aomine, and Akashi thinking about the incident that happened to Kuroko shortly after their quarter-finals.
He needed to keep Kuroko close to him and within his sight at all times to prevent that from happening again, Akashi had thought as he subconsciously pulled Kuroko closer to him.
Meanwhile, Kuroko leaned against Akashi, relishing the warmth that the redheaded boy provided. If he couldn’t have Akashi, the next best thing could have was to bask in Akashi’s presence.
__________
Months had passed since the Interhigh competition. As per the past two years, Teiko won, this time with a huge gap, many thanks to Kuroko’s abilities. With Autumn reaching its end and Winter approaching, Akashi, as both the student council president and the captain of the basketball club, was once again swarmed with responsibilities.
Scouting had revealed that their opponents were increasing greatly in strength – not that it was all surprising considering the rising title of the Winter Cup.
In addition, with the end of the school term approaching, Akashi was once again busy with planning study sessions for the students for their upcoming promotion exams. For the Generation of Miracle’s, they had to study for their high school entrance exam despite being scouted to play for respective schools. Everyone were reluctant to part ways at first, but after being assured that they will meet up and play basketball together despite being scattered all over Japan, all the miracles decided to head to the schools that interest them.
For Kuroko, he was planning to head to Rakuzan High School in Kyoto, an old but regal school with a rich history of students versed in both sports and studies. But more importantly, it is a well-equipped school suited for students with special needs.
For Akashi, he too, was heading to Rakuzan, partly because that is where Kuroko would be, and partly because Rakuzan was the only school among all the others that had scouted for him that had interested him.
Murasakibara wasvheaded to Yosen High School in Akita due to their basketball style being the closest to his own, although he kept complaining about the distance.
The remaining Miracles were still in the Kanto region.
Kise is headed to Kaijou High School in Kanagawa, a school devoted to athletics, while Midorima and Aomine remained in Tokyo, with Midorima going to Shuutoku High School as the school valued grades and practicing, and Aomine choosing Touou due to their rather interesting captain.
With that, the Generation of Miracles would be fighting for their own school in High School – that is if they survived the entrance exam.
To ensure that everyone got into the school of their choice, Akashi, once again, had to organise study sessions for the weaker Teiko students. This time, however, instead of ensuring that hopeless students like Kise and Aomine made it into the higher percentile of the school, he had to ensure that both said idiots were able to tackle any questions that appeared in their school’s entrance exam.
Granted, that was no longer Akashi’s problem, but since they had voiced their desire to go to a specific school, Akashi wanted to ensure that they would get into their choosing. Of course, those idiots weren’t his only problems. Akashi too, had to study for his own entrance exam into Rakuzan.
Additionally, with Akashi graduating soon, he had to organise events and interviews for the next student who would be taking over his role as the basketball captain and for a student who would become the next student council president.
Also, with the end of year approaching comes the annual company party where Akashi would be made to attend as the heir to the Akashi Conglomerate. Needless to say, Akashi was ridiculously busy.
__________
Missing Akashi is an understatement. Kuroko is hungry for Akashi. Ever since he found out about his feelings for Akashi, Kuroko longed for his touch, his attention, he desperately wants to hug Akashi and kiss Akashi and he wants Akashi to look at him and him only. But Kuroko can’t be selfish, so he tried to be content with just sticking close to Akashi.
It sounds pathetic and needy, but no one would ever know, right?
Wrong. Jealousy is a very scary thing, and Kuroko Tetsuya learnt it first-hand.
__________
Ever since the school had announced the Basketball club and its regular’s winning of Interhigh and their advancement to Winter Cup for middle schools, Kuroko had been feeling someone following him. He had chalked up to it being his overactive imagination, but Kuroko couldn’t be more wrong.
One Friday after school, he was heading to the first gym for training long after said training started when he was stopped by a group of students.
Those students had shoved him up against a pillar, taken away his walking stick and punched him in the solar plexus when he refused to let go.
Kuroko held onto his stomach as he doubled over, whimpering in pain and fear. Without his walking stick, Kuroko’s low presence made him almost unnoticeable. With his walking stick, however, he stuck up like a sore thumb. In this case, he had no escape. He can’t get away using his misdirection – he couldn’t get far without his walking stick. Besides, he was being surrounded by students and a pillar. He can’t get away even if he wants to.
Resigning to his fate, Kuroko protected his head, waiting for his bullies to get tired of him.
“Kuroko Tetsuya, right? You have been too full of yourself lately!”
“Yeah, just because Akashi-sama showed you some kindness and let you into his club doesn’t mean you can get all close and chummy with him!”
Oh, it’s Akashi-kun’s fans… or the ‘crazily aggressive bitches’ as Aomine called them.
“Do you really think you can stand beside Akashi-sama? Don’t kid yourself, blind boy. Your disabilities would only be a hindrance you him, you don’t stand a chance.”
“Say something, stupid boy!” One of the girls pulled at his hair.
“Don’t ever bother Akashi-sama again! You are but a charity case to him, and you are still asking for more?!” Another shout with a punch to the side of his ribs.
Kuroko flinched. It hurt, both the insult and the punch. Without his sight, Kuroko had no way of knowing where and when an attack is coming; he had no way of preparing for the impending pain.
He choked on sobs as the girls continued to throw insults, and punches at him. He was scared, terrified and utterly petrified.
Stop… Please stop… Help, someone, help!
“Hey girls, there a bucket of dirty water during classroom cleaning that I haven’t thrown out. Let’s bring it here to teach Kuroko a lesson!”
Kuroko’s blood ran cold at the sound of their agreement.
__________
Akashi breeze walked to the first gym after he excused himself from the meeting room. With the Generation of Miracles separating soon, Aomine and Kise were always at odds with each other, fighting, arguing and having one-on-ones as if to make up for the time they’d miss in the future. Most of the time, Akashi had to be there physically to resolve their conflict. Akashi just hoped the two idiots were realized their feelings for each other already. With how Aomine looked at Kise and how the latter constantly pined after the former, Akashi thought the attraction was clear as day.
Both Akashi and Kuroko were late for practice as their homeroom teacher wanted to discuss with them about Rakuzan’s admission. After the discussion, both boys were about to head to the first gym together when they were stopped by Momoi, who relayed the message that the coaches wished to speak to him. Akashi then had Kuroko go to the gym ahead of him as he headed to the meeting room with Momoi.
The meeting was straightforward. The coaches merely wanted Akashi’s opinion on the strategies they would be using for Winter Cup, as well as the suitable candidates who would be taking over Akashi’s captaincy during the new year. After that, he had excused himself to go to practice, leaving Momoi and the coaches to further discuss on the candidates he had chosen.
Instead of heading to the gym like he always does, Akashi had decided to take the longer route to the gym, entering by the back of the gym so as not to disturb the regular’s training, not that any training would take place with Aomine and Kise’s arguing.
As he neared the gym, Akashi saw a group of girls gathering at a spot surrounding a pillar. He was suspicious; at this time, most club activities have already started long ago. It is unusual to see students gathering around here – especially since this is the basketball club’s training area. Akashi recognized those girls. They were the ones who were always pestering him to go out with them (though Akashi always rejected them in favor of spending more time with Kuroko). He just hoped that those girls weren’t causing anyone troubles. Akashi was about to walk towards the group to ask about their purpose when he saw a flash of teal through the gap of bodies.
At that very moment, Akashi felt a bad sense of déjà vu. He ran towards the group and time seemed to stop the moment he saw one of the girls lift a bucket of water to throw at the trembling little ball of azure.
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SPLASH!
The girls gasped as they saw who the dirty water had hit.
“A-Akashi-sama…!”
“What do you think you are doing?” Akashi snapped coldly as he glared at all the girls that surrounded the boy.
“W-we simply thought that Kuroko was being a burden to you and wanted him… to… stay away…” The girl’s voice trailed off at the look on his face.
Akashi was furious for three simple reasons.
One: They were bullying their fellow students – especially said student are unable to protect themselves.
Two: They were using his name to justify their bullying.
Three: It was Kuroko Tetsuya they are bullying.
Akashi knew that the some of his… (uncalled for) fangirls can be a little wrong up in the head, but he never thought that they would swoop so low as to resort to bullying.
Akashi took a deep breath to keep his emotions in check. The iron control that keeps his emotions in check never fails to fail him when Kuroko in involved.
“All of you,” Akashi instructed, eerily calm and slow, “shall report to the staff room for bullying. Ganging up on and bullying a student is unacceptable, no matter the reason. Go reflect on your actions – and do not even think about not reporting to the staff room. I have been told that I have excellent memory. I remember each and every one of your faces.” Akashi narrowed his eyes, both ruby glowed menacingly.
The group of girls gulped before scurrying away in the direction of the staff office.
With the girls out of sight, the dripping wet Akashi turned around and squatted next to the still curled up Kuroko. He tsked when he noticed that some of the dirty water managed to splash onto Kuroko’s sleeves, leaving the boy shivering in the cold Autumn-nearly-Winter air.
Akashi raised his hand to gently touch Kuroko on his shoulder, and it hurt him tremendously to see Kuroko flinch at the contact.
“Kuroko…” Akashi spoke softly, “It’s me, it’s Akashi. Can you stand? I am bringing you to the clubroom to change, alright? You will catch a cold if you don’t.”
The teal boy remained curled up and unmoving. Akashi thought Kuroko had not heard him and was about to repeat what he said again when the tight ball loosened a little and a weak “A…kashi-kun…?” came from the ball.
“Yes, it’s me,” Akashi replied gently as he hooked his hands under Kuroko’s armpits to lift him up before hooking one of Kuroko’s arm over him shoulders. “come on Kuroko, I am bringing you to the clubroom.”
Something about Akashi’s voice made Kuroko start sobbing uncontrollably. Kuroko clung onto Akashi tightly as he stood on shaky legs. He buried his face into Akashi’s neck, seeking warmth and assurance from the very man he wanted comfort from – a scene rather familiar to their first meeting.
Akashi patted Kuroko on the head before tightening his hold around the smaller boy. At that awkward position, Akashi half carried, half dragged Kuroko into the clubroom.
__________
Akashi dried Kuroko thoroughly and handed him a change of clothes. It is only when Kuroko started dressing slowly then Akashi allowed himself a quick wipe down to stop himself from dripping before changing into warm clothes. He then gathered the shaky boy into his arms, allowing the boy to cry into him. Akashi had witnessed the physical attacks done to him, however, he did not hear what was said to him. Whatever had been said to him was traumatizing for Kuroko, as the boy kept mumbling the sentence “I am sorry, Akashi-kun”.
“Shh… don’t apologise, Tetsuya, you didn’t do anything wrong… If anything, I am sorry I didn’t keep a closer watch on you.” Akashi internally flinched when he realised he called Kuroko by his given name. But seeing as Kuroko either had not heard him or did not react to it, Akashi calmed down.
It took a while before Kuroko’s sobbing died down, but when it did, the words that he tiredly whispered before he fell asleep hit Akashi hard.
__________
Akashi tucked Kuroko into his own bed, applying the same belief that Kuroko would want to stay close to him when he woke up. Akashi laid down beside Kuroko, keeping an eye on any movements Kuroko made.
After he had fallen asleep, Akashi gently lowered Kuroko onto the sofa in their clubroom. He covered Kuroko with his own jersey, just in case Kuroko woke up while he was away, Kuroko would be surrounded by Akashi’s smell and would hopefully feel safe.
Akashi walked purposefully through the halls to the staff room. The words Kuroko had whispered before he fell asleep kept repeating itself in his head. Akashi shook his head to clear his mind, but to no avail. Those girls needed to be punished with no mercy.
“Akashi-kun… Am I… really a hindrance to you?”
“Of course not, Tetsuya…” Akashi whispered, running a hand through the soft teal hair when the unconscious boy shifted uneasily in his sleep. “if anything, you have been a positive change to my life, everyone says so. You are not a hindrance; I love you.” He placed a tender kiss on Kuroko’s forehead and drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Akashi came down with a high fever.
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Kuroko felt safe and warm. He had woken up to Akashi’s arm around him, and he felt secured and relished in the feel of being in his ‘embrace’. Kuroko was about to drift back to sleep when he felt unusual warmth radiating from Akashi.
“A…kashi-kun…?” Kuroko mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eye with one hand while blindly reaching for Akashi with the other. When his palm landed onto Akashi’s temple, Kuroko frowned and shifted his palm onto the forehead, feeling Akashi’s burning head.
“Akashi-kun?! You are burning!” Kuroko snapped awake, pulling at the covers and shaking the feverish boy awake.
“Mhmm…?” Akashi opened one bleary eye, to look at Kuroko. “Mm-no. Cold.” He whined like a petulant child, trying the covers back from Kuroko.
The smaller boy felt guilt stab through his heart like an arrow when he thought about how Akashi could have gotten the fever.
Akashi-kun must have not dried himself properly when he shielded me from the cleaning water yesterday…
“Akashi-kun, I am going to let the head butler know, okay?” Kuroko informed Akashi as he struggled to get out of bed.
“Noooooooo…” The feverish boy whimpered, wrapping an arm around Kuroko and tugging him closer. “T-tsuya… want you. Don’t leave me…” He slurred.
Kuroko jerked at the familiar words he always used. “But Akashi-kun, I have to let the butler know so that he can call for the doctor,” he tried to explain.
“No… want you, love you,” Akashi buried his face into Kuroko’s torso. “don’t go… Tetsuyaaaaa—”
“I am here. I am here,” Kuroko pats Akashi’s head, trying to appease the disturbed boy. “I am not going anywhere.”
“I love you… Tetsuya… love me too…” Were his last words before the boy’s hold went slack and fell asleep.
Kuroko’s heart skipped a bit at that unexpected confession. His thoughts were a mess as he sneaked out of bed to look for their head butler.
Akashi-kun said he loved me. Is that true? Does he really feel the same way? But his fever is really high. Maybe he was merely delirious from fever?
One particular thought, however, struck him hard.
Would Akashi-kun remember this when he is more lucid?
__________
It took two days for Akashi to recover. And for two days, Kuroko refused to leave Akashi’s side, feeling responsible for Akashi’s fever. For that two days, both boys did not go to school.
When they returned to school on Tuesday, they were bombarded by the worried Generation of Miracles and a Momoi. Akashi and Kuroko were a stubborn species. They would drag their body to practice if they had to. For both of them to miss out their practice on Friday and Monday, something bad must had happened.
It took both boys a while of explaining (and a pinch of threat from Kuroko to get Kise off him) for everyone to be satisfied and leave them alone.
As Akashi had just recovered from his fever, the doctor had specifically told him to give it a day of extra rest for his body to adjust – which meant, no practice. Knowing the stubborn creature that is Akashi, he would try to take part in practice, Kuroko decided to sit in during practice as well to watch over Akashi and make sure that ’he is being a good boy who listens to the doctors’ advice’ quoted from the boy himself. This also meant that Akashi and Kuroko had plenty of alone time together during the practice – which also brought out some thoughts and doubts.
“Akashi-kun…” Kuroko squirmed, unsure of how to bring it up.
Akashi hummed, his eyes locked straight ahead, staring at the trainings with want.
“Do you remember… what happened on Saturday morning?” asked the shy boy.
Saturday morning? Akashi gave a non-committal hum before he froze, his face turning bright red at the memory.
Silence means consent, so Kuroko assumed that the lack of response was an affirmative.
“So… you remembered?” Kuroko pushed, feeling a teeny bit hopeful.
“Um…” Akashi mumbled, feeling uncharacteristically shy and hesitant. Should he tell the truth?
“Was what you said the truth?” Kuroko pressed on.
Looking at Kuroko’s face, Akashi saw that his blank-blue eyes were filled with seriousness and a slight hint of nervousness.
Kuroko deserves nothing less than the truth…
Akashi cursed his vulnerability whenever Kuroko was involved.
Here goes nothing…
“Yes…” Akashi confessed, his voice rough from nerves. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I like you, Kuroko. That’s the truth.” Akashi kept his eyes shut, afraid of how Kuroko would react.
When he heard no obvious reactions coming from the boy, Akashi peeked an eye open, only to widen both eyes in surprise when said boy had tears flowing down his cheeks.
“K-k-k-k-Kuroko?! Whoa! Don't cry please!” Akashi struggled to wipe the tears away. “You don’t have to reciprocate my feelings! I am sorry, I shouldn’t have – ” Akashi panicked rumblings were cut by Kuroko’s hand covering his on his cheek.
“N-no, Akashi-kun,” Kuroko started. “I am just too happy… My feelings are returned!” Kuroko smiled that bright and dazzling smile of his. “I like you too, Akashi-kun!”
[i] Wool-gathering
[ii] With flying colours, but not good enough to fly yet.
[iii] The place where Winter Cup took place…I think