Hell-bent

[Thursday. Time: 23:23.  Pre-game]

Another jolt of crippling pain shatters through his left eye.

Akashi Seijuro sits still for a few minutes, applying pressure with the bottom of his palm, taking deep, rhythmic breaths until the sensation subsides. He blinks a few times afterwards, to fully regain awareness of himself and his surroundings. Luckily, he's in the privacy of his own study.

Now that he can see clearly again, Akashi looks down at his right hand to see that he had been gripping a chess piece tightly enough to pierce his skin.

He sets the bloodied figure--the black queen-- back on the table, then pulls a silk handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his fingers. The pain is trivial, but to think he let himself go so easily...how unsightly.

With his good hand, Akashi reaches for the blue porcelain tea cup sitting on the edge of his desk, and takes a sip. The cold English Breakfast taste is about as unpleasant as expected, but Akashi is grateful that any kind of liquid was nearby to relieve his dry throat.

He takes a few more deep breaths, then wills himself to stand up straight. Checks his silver pocket watch : half an hour until midnight. Good, there's still time before the guests arrive.

A small trickle of blood runs from his palm and down his wrist: Akashi licks it off absently as he wonders what he should provide for entertainment tonight...

There's a pair of scissors in the back cabinet that should work quite nicely.

[Friday. Time: 12:34.  Small World]

A capillary right under Himuro's eye twitches involuntarily. He's positive that if he told someone that the large, sloth-like mess of limbs and gluttony currently sprawled on the floor is actually one of the most powerful killers in the country--the so-called 'Reaper' of the underworld-- they'd call bullshit.

To be fair, if Himuro hadn't witnessed Murasakibara's capabilities himself, he'd also have a hard time believing something so ridiculous. But Himuro knows (all too well), that with the proper trigger, the childish and lethargic Atsushi before him now can turn into a sadistic killing machine. Memories of these moments always brand themselves inside Himuro's mind, forever reminding him of what he's dealing with.

For now, however, Murasakibara is just a giant sleepy useless lump.

"Atsushi, I swear to God..."  

Himuro squats down next to the other man and taps his cheek, eliciting small, unfriendly noises from Murasakibara.

"Don't sleep on the kitchen floor, you get in the way. Actually, don't sleep at all."

"..........."

Himuro sighs, already tired out from the fruitless endeavour of rousing Murasakibara from his laze. He crosses his legs into a comfortable sitting position and watches the killer rest peacefully for a few minutes.

After a while, clearly not thinking too hard about his actions, Himuro brushes aside the long bangs covering Atsushi's face and runs his fingers lightly along his forehead.

Finally, finally, Murasakibara opens his eyes, violet irises peek through his lashes to look up at Himuro, expression unreadable.

"Eh? So you're finally awake." says Himuro, snatching his hand away quickly. His heart is totally beating at a normal rate right now. Haha. Hah.

"Muro-chin, do we have any jobs set up for the next little while?" Murasakibara asks in his usual drawl, trying to sit up.

He gives up halfway through out of sheer laziness and instead opts to rest his heavy head in Himuro's lap.

"Ah um! Uh....n-no. Now that Madame Masako's working on negotiations, she said she wants to avoid unnecessary bloodshed so...why? Does it have to do with those calls you were getting yesterday?"

Muraskibara doesn't answer for a few long moments.

"It's a huge pain in the ass..." he finally mumbles, apparently not aware of how the proximity between his mouth and Himuro's thigh is affecting the other man.

"But they'll probably get Araki involved too, and then...I'll have to......ugh. Like I give a shit about 'Kagami Taiga'......."

"Wait. Wait. What."

No way. There's no way.

Him?

[Friday. Time: 14:16.  Surprises]

In the 24 hours Kagami has spent under Riko's new security regime, he has tried to escape nine times, only to have each attempt thwarted by the relentless guard dog that is Kuroko Tetsuya. For someone who was hired to protect Kagami, this Kuroko character sure seems to enjoy shaving the years off Kagami's life by appearing out of nowhere. All the time, he does this.

Riko wasn't kidding when she called him Kagami's 'new shadow'. Fuck.

And how is this weakling supposed to protect him, anyways? He's so small and bland, doesn't smell like a fighter at all. The only assertiveness he shows is his stubborn resolve to dog Kagami's daily life.

Until now, the young heir has been spending most of his time on his own, so who can really blame him for wanting to be alone, away from the quiet and annoyingly persistent 'protection' of this pale imitation of a human being.

And so, desperate to get away, the young heir lies in wait for the next chance to run.

Chance number ten comes around soon enough, when Kuroko asks suddenly, in his soft, cool voice: "Do you mind if I use your shower?"

Kagami is slightly taken aback at first, since this is the first thing his bodyguard has said in the past day that isn't "Where do you think you're going, Master Kagami?"

"Uh...yeah, go ahead."

Kuroko nods politely and gathers up his black work bag. Once he's at the bathroom door, he pauses, turning back to flick his unblinking baby blue eyes up at Kagami.

"What is it..."

"Nothing. Please do not take this opportunity to go off alone."

And with that, he disappears into the bathroom.

Kagami waits until he can hear the sound of running water and the clutter of shampoo bottles. Then he books it.

LIKE HELL HE'S NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY. IS THAT GUY AN IDIOT?

Years of training and natural physical ability allow Kagami to practically fly down the stairways of his apartment complex. His legs are as powerful and fast, but also carry his weight lightly.

He checks his back several times to make sure Kuroko isn't in pursuit, and hones his ears for any vibrations in the stairwells. Blissfully safe.

Once outside, he ducks around to the back of the building, not yet sure which escape route is the best. He can't savour the taste of freedom quite yet, but at least he's bought himself a few minutes. If Kuroko contacts Riko in the next ten minutes, any of his usual hideouts will be exposed. Best to go down through the underpass and-

"I told you not to run off without me."

Kagami makes a throttled sound in the back of his throat as he whips his body around to face a very wet, very, very close Kuroko.

"JESUS! FUCK HOW DO YOU DO THAT!"

How the hell did he catch up so fast? There's no way he could've covered so much ground in so little time, not unless he had been in immediate pursuit, which is impossible.

A chill runs through Kagami. He cranes his head up for a moment, then looks back down at Kuroko's stoic expression.

There's no way.

"Did you ... from the balcony?"

"I thought it would be faster that way."

He thought it would be...faster that way.

Who the fuck.

"Holy shit..."

This bastard scaled down from the seventh floor in a matter of seconds without a scratch on him? That's over twenty meters, without an escape ladder, either.

Could it be....... Kuroko really isn't as weak as he looks?

"I understand you want to go outside, but it's dangerous for many reasons. So if you could please wait until I finish so-"

"Okay, okay," Kagami raises his hand, still struggling to understand just what the fuck. Should he resign himself to the fact that he won't be rid of Kuroko so easily?

No, no. He still hasn't acknowledged or accepted this arrangement. No one's explained what these 'dangers' are to him, or why he should have to put up with a guard in the first place. But...well, this could be interesting in its own way.

"More importantly..."

Kagami  eyes Kuroko, whose appearance isn't exactly fit for the public eye: dripping wet hair still soapy with shampoo, shirt unbuttoned and open to reveal his thin frame and the pale chest underneath; also, it seems he's only managed to throw on a pair of boxers before flinging himself out the window of Kagami's seventh-floor apartment. The bodyguard himself seems unconcerned.

Well, there's no helping it. Kagami unzips his own black sweater, slips it off and dumps it onto the smaller man's head unceremoniously.

"Wha- oomf."

Kuroko  peeks under the arm of the sweater, blinking a few times in surprise.

"Master Taiga?"

"Are you crazy? Don't go jumping out of buildings, it's bad for my heart."

Kuroko opens his mouth to respond, pauses, then reconsiders and just opts for his usual polite nod. Still, there the ghost of a smile plays on his lips as he drapes the borrowed sweater over his shoulders, then follows Kagami back to the apartment complex.

.

It isn't until two hours later, when they're both sitting in a nearby fast food chain, that Kagami realizes. Mouth still full of food, Kagami half-stands with a start, pointing his finger furiously at the bodyguard across from him.

"You bastard!  You set that whole thing up so you could show off your skills to me, didn't you ?!"

Kuroko tilts his head to the side and takes his sweet time sipping from his vanilla shake before responding:

" You were being difficult. Also please swallow before you speak."

"AHHH YOU FUCKING- ugh."

[Friday. Time: 19:43.  The Plot Kinda Thickens]

A brief mental break is in order.

Riko sits up and stretches her arms over her head, craning her neck until she feels a satisfying crack. Next, she rummages through her desk drawer until she finds a small white bottle of chewable vitamin C tablets. She takes one, letting it sit on her tongue to dissolve slowly. Blueberry flavour.

Slumping back against her rather ergonomic leather office chair, Riko pushes her glasses onto her forehead and rubs her temples  with her fingertips. Her brain is fried from work, so she shuts her eyes from the scattering of folders and papers strewn about her desk. She already spent a long, sleepless night yesterday reading and processing data, and she knows all too well that tonight's going to be a hell of a lot longer.

A couple minutes pass before Riko opens her eyes to reality again. Still as grim as ever, huh?

She checks her phone: 1 message from Taiga, begging her to reconsider assigning 'this fucking guy' to him, with an attached photo of what appears to be armed bodyguard Kuroko Tetsuya holding up a stray puppy.

Riko snorts out loud: amazing. She laments a little that she isn't there to see Taiga's reaction, but laments even more that she isn't there to pet that FUCKING ADORABLE DOG. ~KYAH~

Well, it's a good thing those two are getting along. Hyuga was the one that screened Kuroko for this job, so Riko knows this kid must be the real deal: of all her subordinates, Riko trusts Hyuga's word the most.

On top of the recorded physical competency, this Kuroko seems to be handling the young master just fine. This helps the young Head of Security rest just a little easier.

Especially since it appears that the main players in this whole game are far more dangerous than Riko had initially anticipated.

The limited (but valuable) information Riko was able to obtain presents her the following list of major fucking problems:

• Midorima Shintarou--This name Riko is already quite familiar with. He currently belongs to an  assassin group known as 3K, which seems to target only corrupt politicians, lawyers, and other people in positions of power.  A renowned sniper, known for his impossibly long-range accuracy and 100% success rate.
  
  
• Aomine Daiki-- Another name well known in the underground. Unrivaled in hand-to-hand combat, Aomine was until recently employed by Arbiter Katsunori as a living weapon, often involved in dispelling troublesome gang conflicts. Quit recently due to 'personal reasons'. Whether he will face consequences for this remains unknown.
  
  
• Murasakibara Atsushi-- Referred to in some circles as 'Reaper' for his merciless group kills. His hits are rare, and more often than not gang related. Currently working under Madame Masako of the Araki Group as clean-up and bodyguard.
  
  
• Akashi Seijuro-- Born into a family that is known to run one of the largest crime syndicates on the continent. Unlike his father, his existence and activities are shrouded in nothing but mysteries and rumours. Likely to be pulling the strings on a number large of criminal operations, without getting directly involved himself.
  
  
• Kise Ryouta -- His dossier is the only one to come with photographs. A popular young model, well-behaved with a charming public image... and may very well be doubling as a freelance, versatile tool for various sectors of the underground. Riko's informant also made sure to underline the word 'honey trap' several times, which speaks for itself.

The only thing that seems to connect these people is the assurance of Riko's trusted source that, without a doubt, they have all been enlisted to come after Master Taiga. Obviously there is much, much more at hand, but...

Riko sighs heavily and picks up a file at random. She tries to read it, but the words look blurry...oh. No, she just forgot to put on her reading glasses.

Maybe she should call it a night, after all.

Just as Riko is about to set the papers down  (so she can slam her face into her desk and sleep until the dawn), her eye catches onto a particular name that for some reason hadn't registered the first five hundred  times she had read through them all.

Momoi Satsuki...huh.