Chapter Text
“Akashi-kun, Akashi-kun…”
Kuroko fidgeted with the phone in his hand. A simple, black flip phone that his friend and rival, Akashi, gifted to him and one for each of their friends some time ago. Akashi mentioned it was a way to keep in contact with each other during their training camp in Hawaii, just in case someone got lost. That someone being him and lost being a hidden term for disappearing.
Giving the rest of the miracles a phone was a guise. Technically, they all could track each other with their scents alone. The five miracles, disregarding himself, were made up of a pride of big cats. Felidae family: Genus Panthera with the exception of Murasakibara, Genus Puma . Akashi led them as the king lion of the pride and the five of them followed. Making them not only the most feared team of basketball players, but the most unbeatable pack. On the other hand, to their knowledge, Kuroko is human. Which brings Kuroko to his current predicament.
The blue haired boy flipped the phone open and scrolled onto Akashi’s contact, hovering over the call button. Arguably, he could’ve revealed to his friends that he turned out to be a type of cat like them, but he feared the rejection to come alongside. Their Teiko years did each of them terribly. The five miracles originally formed a pack as a way to show off in front of the school. Eventually discovering their increase of compatibility in athletics and other competitions provided by the school.
The miracle packs aura broadcasted to everyone, as if saying “Hey, look at us, fear us! We’re the best! Our bonds are unbreakable!” Pride suited them all too well.
Kuroko had no reason to not tell them his secret. Teiko never forced him or anyone else for that matter, to reveal their hybrid subcategory, if they had one. Unless it was for medical reasons. Momoi Satsuki, being the Teiko’s basketball club’s manager, had been the only one to know his secret for paperwork and medical emergencies- and boy, did she relish in that secret.
Nijimura Shūzō, the snow leopard, knew as well. He had to know, as he was the captain of the basketball team. Kuroko should’ve told Akashi during his reign in captaincy, but he figured he didn’t have to because he already told Nijimura. It was technically a loophole, and if Nijimura-senpai didn’t share that knowledge with Akashi-kun, then it is what it is!
Midorima was the closest to finding out his hybrid form. One day, during their middle school years, his beloved Oha Asa required him to acquire a black cat. Stubborn in his ways in doing whatever humanly possible to win, he went searching for a living cat, but Midorima’s compatibility with house cats was and still is practically zero. He feared them and in return cats disliked him. Kuroko supposed it had to have been due to Midorima being closer to the top of the food chain as a predator.
Kuroko tried to help Midorima that day. He is after all, a type of house cat, a bombay cat specifically , also known as a parlor panther. His hybrid species is a breed that had been selectively bred down the line to look like miniature black panthers. Kuroko figured with his black panther-like fur he could transform and be Midorima’s lucky item for that day, but that went south very quickly. He didn’t expect Oha Asa to require a traditional black cat.
One thing led to another and Midorima ended up with scratches all up and down his body and Kuroko with a nearly broken tail. He wasn’t sure how Midorima managed to step on his tail and almost crush him, but he vowed to seek revenge, since. One basketball to the back of the green haired boy's head later, Kuroko had apologized and blamed it on Midorima’s poor fortune. And if it happened a few more times after? He shouldn’t have stepped on his tail. He could see why small cats disliked him, Oha Asa be damned.
“Enough procrastinating..” Kuroko mumbled to himself, locked in his room. He pressed call.
“Hello, Kuroko?” Akashi spoke through the phone, not giving the phone a moment's chance to ring.
“Hi, Akashi-kun.” He mumbled, apprehensively.
“Is something wrong? It’s late for you to be calling me.” The redhead voiced his concern.
“Can we meet up once more? At least before the school year starts. There’s something I forgot to say to you all…”
“Of course. Shall I let the others know?”
“Yes, thank you Akashi-kun.”
“Kuroko.”
“Yes, Akashi-kun?”
“You don’t need to be so nervous. Whatever it is, it will be okay. Nothing like before.” Believe me when I tell you, I’ll never do you no harm. Not again.
“Thank you. Goodnight.” Kuroko took a deep breath, his other senses tingling. He paced his room out of anxiety, a habit he had developed not so long ago.
“Goodnight, Kuroko. See you soon. I will let you know when we’re all free.”
Click.
Kuroko stumbled over to his bed. He hadn’t felt this much stress in awhile, not including if it was on the court. On the court his nerves came from the excitement of the game. This wasn’t fun. He feared how the boys would react to his hybrid form. He didn’t intend on hiding it, but when the dynamics changed in the group, he feared he wouldn’t be enough. Will they be furious? Will they be upset?
“What if they think I’m trying to pressure them into joining their pack…?” Kuroko stressed to himself. The blue boy did want to join them, he adored them after all. He crawled underneath the covers of his bed, hugging his Tetsuya-Nigou-shaped plushie the team got for him as a joke. Seiren gave Kagami one as well, one of each. Kagami-Nigou and Tetsuya-Nigou. The two basketball playing dogs pulled everyone’s heartstrings, even Kagami’s.
“Kagami-kun reacted well when I told him,” Kuroko mumbled sleepily, “So did the rest of Seiren.” They were pleased to know something about the phantom player that not even the Generation of Miracles knew. So much so, they threw a “We Know Kuroko Better Than You!” themed party. Kuroko wasn’t pleased about that. Seiren showed up wearing Kuroko cutout face masks and fake cat ears.
His phone buzzed.
The boy looked at the text identifier screen, reading, “Akashi-kun sent (1) new message(s).” He opened it and read the message:
Hi, Kuroko. The rest of the pack has agreed to this weekend. We’ll see you soon.
-Akashi
Kuroko rolled over onto his side, cuddling in the warmth of the sheets. It was much like Akashi to make the decision for him as well. “He is assuming I don’t have weekend plans, how rude Akashi-kun.” Kuroko stifled a laugh. His hybrid side popping out. Ears, tail and all. The cat-hybrid purred himself into a slumber.
---
Akashi planned for everyone to meet on his family’s privately owned beach home. A nearly ¥2 billion yen house in Katsuura City, Chiba. The villa itself was located in a National Park, and had its own roof garden covered in a natural turf top. It took Kuroko and the rest of the boys, located in Tokyo, almost an hour and a half by train to reach the Akashi’s home. In that time, Kuroko may have done some stalking.
“There’s even a couple of pools, Aomine-kun… Why does Akashi-kun need so many pools?” Kuroko sat in between Midorima and Aomine on the train. Kise, though located in Kanagawa, had to take a later train to join the rest of the group at the beach home, his modeling gig supposedly ran later than he expected.
“Woah! Tetsu, look at this! If you zoom in on the roof, it looks like Akashi put a basketball court on the roof!” Aomine zoomed in on his phone’s map street view.
“Oi, you idiot, we’re not here to play basketball,” Midorima reached over Kuroko to gently smack Aomine upside the head, “Akashi is having us gather, he said Kuroko had something important to tell us.”
“Oh yeah, Tetsu. What is it you were going to tell us, anyway?” Aomine hooked his arm around Kuroko’s shoulder.
“It is strange that you had Akashi summon us all together, Kuroko. Did you two sign us up for another tournament again?”
Kuroko jumped at the contact. He was in a genuinely good place with the others. Their reconciliation after the Winter Cup led to the group hanging out more so than ever. They even included Kuroko on some of their pack excursions. He couldn’t afford to mess this up. The soft blue haired boy felt nervous.
“Awh, hell that demon Akashi is going to make us train. Tetsu, tell me what Midorima said isn’t true!” Aomine hissed out, complaining. The light’s ears flickered out of his ears, emerging one panther ear on either side. His tail swished behind him trapped between his body and the train seat.
“No Aomine-kun, we’re not playing a tournament.” Kuroko chuckled nervously. He glanced at his ex-light, the taller boy let his hybrid side show. They all did it pretty often, hiding that side to them hadn’t been comfortable. Kuroko is jealous, his anticipation growing. The shooting guard beside Kuroko shook his head.
“Aomine, we’re on the train, mind your ears and tail.”
“I know you’re itching to have them out! Midorima, join me~” The ace snickered, reaching over Kuroko to ruffle Midorima’s hair.
A smack to the panther’s hand later, Midorima twitched his second form out of his hair and backside. Fuzzy spotted ears blended into his skull. Midorima is a cheetah, like Aomine who was a black panther, they were part of the Panthera Genus. Kuroko shared glances between the two on either side of them.
Even he, who rarely left his human form, could sense the predator aura radiating off of them. Kuroko was itching to change next. To distract himself, he grabbed both of their tails. “Oh, look at that, we’re getting closer to the train station.” Kuroko hummed to himself.
“TETSU!”
“KUROKO! WHY?”
“Look,” Kuroko pointed with a blank expression, “We’re here.”
“You are so lucky you are human, Tetsu! We’d have you submitting to us in seconds.” Aomine flashed his teeth playfully.
“Whatever you say, Aomine-kun.”
“Those kinds of words are a challenge to us, Kuroko. I thought Akashi taught you these things.” Midorima sighed, placing a hand around the back of the smaller of the three’s neck.
“If Tetsu remembered anything we warned him about, he wouldn’t be going off to challenge every hybrid in the region.”
“Everyone is fair game when it comes to basketball, Aomine-kun.” The panther snickered at that. The train rolled to a stop. Kuroko attempted to turn his head to look out the window behind him, Midorima’s grip prevented him from doing so. It only tightened.
“Midorima-kun, please let go.”
“Have you learned your lesson?”
Kuroko sighed. The sun basking on his back and Midorima’s hand caused his neck to start sweating. It was getting uncomfortable for his human side, but his hybrid side keened to appease the stronger predator.
But Kuroko was still Kuroko, and he is just as stubborn as the day they all left him. His green haired counterpart, who is just as stubborn (if not more), applied more pressure. Kuroko in return reached for Midorima’s tail again and pulled.
“Kuroko! If you would just-” the cheetah hissed, flashing his eyes at the boy.
“Okay, okay. I am sorry Midorima-kun, I won't do it again.” the small boy conceded, opting to scratch Midorima’s ears instead. The five miracle hybrids allowed Kuroko to touch them, him and their own respective families were the only ones who could get close enough too. Each of the miracles were big cats, and it showed based on their stubbornness.
The most prideful is Akashi, the lion. Designated leader of his pride. How he felt would amplify how everyone else felt around him. Midorima is the second in command, just like in middle school. He is a cheetah. Aomine, the ace himself, was a black panther. Except for the one time where Momoi sprayed him with pink pet-safe dye to turn him into the P*nk Panther.
“Satsuki, the hell!?” the once black, now pink hybrid roared.
“Sorry, not sorry Dai-chan!” his childhood best friend snickered, floating in the air. Her sleek raven wings stretched.
Kise, the model and copycat, is a jaguar. Also part of the pantherinae family. His fur has always been the best groomed out of all them. The blonde once stated he used a special conditioner for cats and insisted the other boys should try it. Which led to Aomine asking if the blonde went to get his hair done at the pet groomers instead. Kise threw a fit.
Murasakibara is the odd one out, excluding the “human” in their little group. He resided in the Puma Genus, a cougar. His big cat side to him is stocky and muscular, like his human side. Countless times had the purple haired giant crushed Kuroko and the others in his cougar form. Kuroko shivered at that memory. He may be bred to be like a panther, but he was not one. Neither his human form or cat form could handle Murasakibara’s weight.
“Tetsu, snap out of it, we gotta get off the train now.” Aomine hurried, lifting Kuroko up by his arm. The panther slung his own overnight bag on his shoulder while dragging his shadow out.
“A-Aomine-kun, wait, I don’t have my bag.”
“It’s fine, Midorima will grab it!”
“Oi, Aomine! Seriously?” The green haired boy shouted, piling his own overnight bag loaded with god-knows-what and Kuroko’s thankfully smaller bag over his shoulders.
“It’s going to be a long weekend,” Kuroko sighed.
---
The hike up the road to the cliffside villa had been no joke. The residence resided in a private gated community. Trees and foliage shaded their travel up the steep pathway. Taking a closer inspection, Kuroko could see the tops of buildings the size of castles.
“Don’t look up too far, Tetsu. You’ll fall over,” Aomine grinned, ruffling the shadows' hair. Kuroko smacked him.
“Midorima-kun you’re rich too, do you have any places like this?” Kuroko questioned the spectacled boy on the other side of him.
“My families well off for sure, but comparing me to an Akashi is kind of…” Midorima adjusted his glasses.
“I bet Kagami-kun has homes like this in America, his father could rival Akashi-kun’s father.”
Aomine gagged, “You just had to bring that bastard up now. You’re right though, Kagami’s living pretty comfortably too.” The panther's nose crinkled at the mention of Kuroko’s tiger friend. The three boys walked over to the bus stop just outside the gated community entrance. The sun blazed on the tops of their heads.
“Akashi said the chauffeur would pick us up here.” Midorima claimed, looking at his past messages between him and their pack leader. The three boys rested their overnight bags on the bench. Kuroko sat down beside the bags, resting from their previous walk, while the other two paced waiting for the vehicle to show up.
“Hey, hey. Midorima, let’s race.” Aomine prodded, shifting into his panther form completely.
“What? And leave Kuroko behind? Does anything enter your brain other than basketball, food, and competing?” The cheetah hybrid sighed, flicking his tail in irritation.
The panther padded over to Kuroko and sat down in front of the resting boy. Aomine gave his shadow wide “kitten” eyes pleading to him. Kuroko, in response, flicked the panthers forehead.
“Go on, I’ll allow it, but you two owe me,” Kuroko hummed.
“I don’t know how I feel about leaving you behind Kuroko,” Midorima stressed, “Akashi will be pissed. The last time we lost you, we couldn’t find you for hours.”
Kuroko shook his head, giggling softly, “To be fair I was kidnapped… They mistook me for Akashi-kun because of our heights.”
“This wasn’t just one time!”
“Go Midorima-kun, I’ll be right behind you. Go spend some time with Aomine-kun.” The panther looked like he was about to pounce on both of them if they didn’t come up with a decision quickly.
“Fine,” he sighed, “ Don’t try to disappear on us.”
Kuroko shooed at Midorima. The green haired boy shifted into his cheetah form, ears twitching in anticipation. The two predators walked to their starting marks off the main road and took in the direction of their pride leaders home, leaving Kuroko to defend the bags and himself. Sitting on the bench, the boy started kicking the pebbles off the ground waiting. He zoned out in the heat.
“Now’s the time to back out…”
“Kuroko-sama? I am here to bring you to the main house.” a person dressed in a casual suit announced, spooking him out of his thoughts. A black car had been stopped in front of him. The chauffeur himself seemed to be human.
“...Yes, thank you very much.” Kuroko expressed his appreciation to the chauffeur. Kuroko and the man placed the bags into the trunk of the car. The man shut the trunk before walking over to the back side door and opened it for Kuroko to go in. In a split decision, the secret cat hybrid decided against going into the car, changing plans.
“Sir, is it alright if you could take the bags up without me? I think I’d like to walk up…,” Kuroko gave the man giant kitten eyes. No one could deny his kitten eyes, well in his case, human eyes, depending on who’s concerned. He wanted to stretch out his cat side before the rest arrived and Kuroko always thrived in high spots. What better way for him to reach his destination if not by trees?
And if he’s lucky, he might even be able to scare the others if he shifts back into his human form unnoticed behind them. He had a plan.
“Akashi-sama requested that you, specifically, cannot deviate from entering the car. Something about a habit of disappearing?” The chauffeur questioned.
“Please sir? Akashi-kun cannot dictate my actions.”
“Is that so… Though isn’t he your pack leader? Disobeying him doesn’t seem like the best option, Kuroko-sama.”
“If I was a hybrid like all of them, then maybe so, but I’m human.” Kuroko defended himself. He didn’t like where this was heading. If his ears were showing, they’d be flat against his head.
“Hmm… I wonder if Akashi-sama see’s it like that? Very well, if you are so sure. Keep to the main roads, there are cameras pointed at the street. If anything were to happen to you, that would be the best way for us to get information on your whereabouts.” the chauffeur informed, making the blue haired boy uneasy.
“Thank you, sir. By any chance do you know if the others have arrived?” What did he mean that Akashi-kun saw it like that?
“Murasakibara-sama arrived early this morning from the airport, Kise-sama canceled his photoshoot this morning to surprise his pack. Something about a ‘Kurokocchi being his number one priority’?”
Kuroko shivered at that, maybe he should turn back.
“Thank you again,” he bowed, watching the man head to the driver's seat and take off down the road.
Kuroko waited a certain amount of time before heading off in the direction of the car before deviating off the path into the woods. He located the camera’s off the road, they were hooked up to galvanized poles down the street. All 360° cameras. Not good.
He waded his way deeper into the wooded areas of the wood, as far away from the cameras as possible. He ended up settling behind a giant leafy bush, shielding his body from anything that was not green. The wind lifted up the boy's shirt, revealing a scent-begone-patch he used to hide his hybrid scent from everyone. The adhesive began to peel at the corners .
Kuroko relaxed his body, shifting into his glossy black furred cat form. His body absorbed the sun filtering through the tops of the trees. With a big stretch for a cat his size, he slinked up the tree, beginning his journey to the villa.
Kuroko loved heights. It had been his favorite way to observe people, one of key elements in learning misdirection. There wasn’t a rooftop he couldn’t sneak on. A long developed habit that annoyed Akashi and Midorima to know end as they couldn’t figure out how the blue haired human had snuck up to these places. Resulting in many wild goose chases in their youth to this day. Part of Kuroko had been sad he had to part with such a useful prank, but ultimately he’ll come up with another plan.
He always did.
Kuroko journeyed above the trees, reaching the top as far as his weight would let him. He hopped, climbed and repeated all the way to the Akashi home. Stopping intermittently to play with the wild life around him. The villa slowly came into his sight, spying the five boys in their hybrid form, several yards away.
“Maybe I should get them a bird as a gift…” the bombay cat thought to himself, his prey drive clicking in, eyeing a nest in his peripheral vision. “Momoi-san would be pissed if she knew though…” Kuroko shuttered at the thought of the pink haired raven. She always scolded the others (and him, when no one else was around) to not hunt her fellow birds, but she wasn’t here.
The faux miniature panther balanced himself on the tree branch near a bird's nest. A single reed warbler unaware of its position has settled itself in its grassy nest. Kuroko stalked closer, raising its back haunches, preparing to launch himself.
“Woah, Akashi did you get a cat or something?” a gruff voice coming from his light echoed into the woods.
“No, what do you mean Aomine? What do you see-” Kuroko saw the red blob turn in his direction. Kuroko couldn’t see any of their expressions, but his ears allowed him to hear well. “Never seen that cat before, he must have escaped from the neighbors.”
“...Not another black cat,” another voice jumped. That was definitely Midorima-kun.
“Relax, Midorimacchi! We won’t let that big bad kitty catch you!” The blonde snickered.
“Akachin, look, it's hunting.” Murasakibara hummed. Curse their feline vision.
Kuroko flicked his tail annoyed, at least they had no way of knowing it was him-
“Akashi-sama,” the voice of the chauffeur spoke suddenly, “I brought the rest of the bags. Kuroko-sama has opted on traveling the rest of the journey up here by himself.”
“Tetsu did what?” Aomine raised an eyebrow.
“That idiot! He promised he wouldn’t disappear!”
Akashi sighed before raising his voice, “Enough, Kuroko-kun will show up when he’s ready.” The pack leader turned to face the rest of his pride and joy. “If he’s not here in the next half hour we will track him down, he’s still using the phone I got all of you. That can easily be tracked. ”
Kuroko flicked his tail, unfortunately for Akashi, he left his phone in his overnight bag. Unfortunately for himself, if Akashi figures that he left his phone behind, he will be beyond screwed. The black cat turned to face his prey again, not wanting the others to notice him listening in.
The miniature panther-cat launched himself at the bird, expanding his jaw to latch on to the tiny feathered body. He wasn’t necessarily aiming to kill, but he did intend to mess with the people nearby. The little warbler sang out its cries. Kuroko could feel the vibrations from the startled creature shake his body. Shaking his head, he began hopping down to the lower branches. He inched closer until he hovered over the group of rainbow hair below him.
Did he risk exposing himself? Yes.
Did he want to drop the bird on Kise’s freshly styled hair? Yes.
Kuroko could argue the positives outweigh the negatives this time for entertainment reasons. The bird accepted its fate, stilling in his captor's mouth while Kuroko took aim at the unsuspecting blonde.
“Hey Akachin, that cat has gotten closer.” Murasakibara noted, pulling at the redhead's sleeves to gain his attention.
Akashi seemed to ponder at that, examining the cat that happened to settle conveniently above them, “That is a brave cat, getting close to us. It must be aware that we’re predators, no?”
Kuroko raised his haunches again, mocking a challenge.
“Oh-ho, I think the little kitty wants to play!” Aomine grinned, waving his sleek tail back and forth. The rest of the boys circled near the tree where Kuroko was above. Directly below him now resided the blonde jaguar, unsuspecting. The cat froze in his stance, staring down at his light. If he aimed perfectly he could possibly attack Aomine at the same time. Kuroko would enjoy that.
Two birds, one stone.
Adjusting his position once more, Kuroko’s blue eyes glinted with mischief as he clutched the small bird in his jaws. With a swift fluid motion, the cat released his grip on the limp bird. The warbler plummeted downwards in the air, like a basketball, before dropping squarely on top of the model's head. Kise eyes widened, frozen in shock. He slowly reached up, fingers brushing the feathers of the unexpected gift, before screaming.
Aomine started hysterically laughing and pointing at Kise. The others joined in, snickering at the poor blonde in amusement, except Midorima who took a step back subconsciously. His fear of house cats was no joke.
Taking that moment of distraction from Kise, Kuroko launched his feline body off the tree aiming at Aomine’s head, planting himself in between the panther’s ears atop his head. Kuroko did not take into account how slippery Aomine hair would be. He began sliding down Aomine’s face, blocking his ability to breathe. Kuroko panicked and latched on to the remnants of his light’s short hair, claws nicking his scalp.
“Ow, ow, ow! Someone get it off!” Aomine howled before grabbing either side of Kuroko’s furry belly and launching the cat at Murasakibara. Kuroko hissed as he went flying through the air, grasping for the first thing he could hold onto. Unfortunately for Murasakibara, it was his shirt and part of the bag of chips he attempted to hide protectively up against his chest. Murasakibara growled back at Kuroko before picking him up by the scruff, holding him in the air.
“You get air-jail time now, cat.” Murasakibara graveled, mourning the torn bag of chips. Kuroko bicycle pedaled his four legs in the air, trapped in the grasp of the giant - how humiliating.
“Murasakibara, you should release the cat.” Midorima prompted. He could just feel, something bad would happen. HIs Oha-Asa horoscopes warned him of such a predicament.
“No! Don’t release him, give it here! I know some fashion designers who could make a nice cat furred scarf out of it” Kise hissed, still brooding over the bird.
“You’re not turning the cat into clothes, Kise.” Akashi hummed in amusement, watching the chaos around his pack continue.
Aomine promptly shifted into his full panther form, stalking circles around Murasakibara. If the little cat wants to play, then they will play. Murasakibara, seemingly getting the hint, dropped the cat. Kuroko landed on all four paws, hackles raised. He always wanted to play alongside Aomine in this form, he wasn’t going to waste this opportunity!
“Get him Aominecchi!”
“Just don’t accidentally crush the cat please, if it belongs to the neighbors, I won’t be the one explaining what happened.” Akashi stated.
Aomine and Kuroko circled each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. A few minutes of circling later, Kuroko darted underneath the larger panther's legs, nipping his tail on the way out. The panther leaped and hissed, tripping over his paws. Kuroko zigzagged his way towards the trees. He knew he’d have an upperhand advantage going back up the trees.
Unfortunately for Kuroko, Aomine was faster. The panther got back up onto his paws and bolted after the faux panther-cat quickly gaining speed. It didn’t take long for the larger boy to end up right beside Kuroko again. Aomine opened his jaws, getting ready to put the smaller into submission.
Kuroko wouldn’t go down that easily. He wasn’t Aomine and Kagami’s shadow for no reason after all. The cat hooked his claws into the dirt to immediately brake himself to a halt causing the panther to slide farther up ahead. Aomine, realizing what the cat did, followed suit, but his larger body caused him to roll over onto his side sliding across the grass. Kuroko paused and snickered at the panther while catching his breath. The heat caused Kuroko’s fur to glisten from sweat. Aomine was doing no better.
The game of tag continued. If Kuroko ran up the tree, Aomine would follow suit and if Aomine weight caused the branch to snap and fall, Kuroko would follow him down to check on him before they started their game of chase again. The smaller cat was quickly beginning to grow tired. Aomine wouldn’t stop until he got the pesky cat unknown to him as Kuroko. There was only one way to end this.
Akashi-kun.
Kuroko climbed on top of Aomine’s back to confuse the panther. He used the panther's height to leap off of the larger feline, scampering his way to Akashi. The larger body fell to his side, trying to crush Kuroko. He roared in annoyance before rolling back over to chase the cat, still wanting to play. Kuroko had enough, leaping up into Akashi’s chest. The red head quickly wrapped his arms around the cat, glaring down at Aomine.
“Heel, Aomine. Playtime's over.” Akashi voiced in authority. The leader ran his hands through Kuroko’s fur. Kuroko absolutely did not purr. The small cat rubbed his head into the red head’s neck, making himself comfortable. Aomine skidded to a halt.
“Akashicchi, don’t let that alley cat rub its scent all over you!” Kise complained, side-eyeing the cat. Jealousy was no stranger to Kise.
“I wasn’t sure earlier, but you really can’t tell what this cat's scent is…” Midorima questioned, turning to Akashi.
The pride leader hummed, twitching his ears in thought. This cat reminded Akashi of something, but what or who? He couldn’t decide.
“The kitty is kinda like Kurochin in a way, with no scent, how annoying…” The cougar sighed, plopping himself onto the ground.
“This cat seems a bit familiar… I don’t like it.” Midorima thought to himself, looking at the cat in Akashi’s arm, under a closer inspection. “But from where?”
“Speaking of Tetsu, he’s been missing for awhile now…” Aomine said, a little more seriously, before tacking on, “Maybe that cat's Tetsu.”
Kise snickered, “How do you know if that cat is even a male cat? What if it's female?”
Akashi raised the black cat up under its armpits, examining its private zone, “Definitely male.”
Aomine and Kise wheezed.
Midorima eyes widen, tail rapidly flipping side to side, “I know that cat!” He hissed.
“Midorimacchi, you do?”
“Yes! That’s the same cat that scratched up my face back in Teiko! Not just once!”
“Wait… Midorima, you’re saying it’s that cat.” Aomine snickered, now transformed back. Everyone in the Teiko Basketball Club knew of Midorima’s dilemma with house cats. That day where Midorima’s lucky item was a black cat will never be forgotten, especially with how bad his luck was.
“How is that possible, Midochin? Maybe the cat actually liked you this whole time. Your curse is broken~” Murasakibara snickered.
Akashi looked down at the cat, gently spreading its fur apart to see his skin underneath. “It’s black like it’s fur. Even down to the whiskers and mouth… Burmese cat? No, the ears are a little more rounded. It’s muscular and has a sheen fur coat like Aomine’s,” He thought to himself, before unintentionally speaking out loud, “Bombay Cat.”
“What was that Akashicchi?”
Kuroko flicked his ears back, he was losing control of the situation quickly. He shifted his weight in Akashi’s arms to worm his way out. This wasn’t how he planned on revealing himself. A low rumble came out of Akashi as a warning to the small cat not to attempt anything. Kuroko stayed pliant.
“This cat… It’s a Bombay shorthair cat. They’re bred to resemble panthers, from their fur down to their natured personality.”
“Pfft… No wonder Midorimacchi struggled with it, it’s a miniature Aominecchi!” Kise giggled.
“Oi, that’s kind of sick, no wonder it kept up with me. Hand him over Akashi, I want to play with it more.”
“Hmm… Another mini-Minechin. Like Kurochin is~”
“Murasakibaracchi! Don’t compare Kurokocchi to that dumbass!”
“O-Oi!”
Akashi sat on the ground, motioning the rest to join them, minus Murasakibara who had already been basking in the sun on the grass. Something still wasn’t adding up for Akashi. As if finally putting two and two together, he pulled out his phone, tapping an app on the screen.
Find-My-Pack App.
The latest way to track your friends, family, or pack in a GPS application. You can either use dog tags, collars, or a phone to track each other with it. Akashi found it pretty useful, especially in situations like this. Specifically for when a certain shadow was missing. Akashi’s eyes widened, everything clicking together. His location was located in the house, where his overnight bag was left. He glanced back to the cat in his arms.
“Do you want me to say it, or will you tell everyone?” Akashi prodded.
Kuroko flattened his ears.
Kise tilted his head to the side, “What are you talking about, Akachin?”
The lion hybrid stared domineering at his lesser half, releasing his hold on the smaller feline. Kuroko stood up on all four paws in the red haired boy's lap, circling in anxiety before placing two paws on Akashi’s chest, stretching his neck to nip at the leader’s chin. It was an odd form of submission by grooming. He tried his best to appease Akashi like how he saw the others do when they were in trouble.
“Well?” Akashi hummed, his impatience growing.
Midorima’s eyes widened, putting two-and-two together. Mouth left ajar, he was speechless.
“Oi, Midorima what is it? What’s going on?” The other three were left confused, unsure what their vice leader and leader head discovered. Kuroko’s tail twitched, climbing back down into the lion's lap.
“I guess I don’t have any other choice…” Kuroko considered his options.
- Running from his five, much faster friends.
- Revealing his identity. (Which he came to do in the first place.)
The five of them taught him never to run from predators. Kuroko never really chose to know better, he knew one day it would bite him in the bum and he wasn’t letting it be today. He stretched his legs, still settled in Akashi’s lap, shifting back to his human-hybrid form. Finally back in that form, the blue haired boy leaned back into Akashi’s chest, his heart beating loudly. The pride leader circled his arms around the cat hybrid, locking him in place from running.
“Tetsu!”
“Kurokocchi!”
“Kurochin?”
“...Good to see everyone-”