Hell-bent

[Saturday. 6 hours ago, at 14:11. Rainbow Road Part 0]

People are always saying how Muro-chin is cold, that his expressions are lifeless, that he's just like a doll. "Disinterested". "Icy". "Unpredictable".

Yeah, okay.

The truth is, Muro-chin is always warm to the touch, he gets pissy easily, and he cares so much about pointless shit that it's annoying. Lifeless dolls probably don't have such bad tempers. Probably.

Where are people even looking? Murasakibara can't fully understand all of Muro-chin's emotions, but he can feel them, in his smell, in the clear beating of his pulse as he grips his wrist.

"Atsushi....Atsushi! Slow down, where are we going?"

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Explain. Muro-chin seems so desperate to find out what Murasakibara promised to tell him, about his past, about the current game. Honestly, Murasakibara doesn't give a shit if Muro-chin finds out about all the crap that happened, but sitting down to explain it is kind of a pain.

No, it's just painful.

Still, if that's what it takes to satisfy Muro-chin....Murasakibara runs through all possible solutions to the current problem, and uses the process of elimination to reach a decision.

He stops abruptly, causing Himuro to stumble into him, confused.

"Does Masako-chin need us for anything today?"

"I don't think so?"

Okay.

"I need to introduce you to someone."

[Saturday. 20:11. ????!?!??!??!!!!!!]

"Guess again <3"

So close, Kagami can feel the heat of the unfamiliar voice against his ear.

The young heir wastes no time in getting the fuck back, covering about eight meters of distance between himself and...

...this random...pretty-boy.

At first glance, everything about this guy seems non-threatening, from his carelessly open stance, to the amicable look on his face, to the way his hands are covered by the oversized sleeves of his beige wool cardigan. If Kagami didn't know better, he'd assume this is simply some lost blonde ikemen that just happened to find his way into this apartment complex, and nothing more.

But Kagami does know better; while he's not the most 'academically proficient' person, he doesn't need to be to realize that the stranger standing before him was also the one whose bloodlust raised the hairs on the back of his neck for a second back there.

"Ahaha, relax, relax, I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk. You're Kagami Taiga, yes?"

Random Ikemen says this in a light, playful sing-song voice, not really putting Kagami at ease. Like, at all. He's moving forward, reaching for his pocket... for a what? A weapon? If it's a knife, Kagami is fucking ready to engage, fists raised and on alert. If it's a gun.....well, he can play that by ear.

 Running does not even occur to him, because he's that kind of idiot.

However, before Random Ikemen can take another step, something metal whizzes past Kagami headed straight for the stranger's arm.

The guy barely moves away in time.

"Can you please refrain from doing whatever it is you are trying to do?"

Kagami never thought he'd be glad to startle at one of Kuroko's heart-stopping phantom appearances, and yet here he is.

He glances down at his bodyguard's face to find there's something....different about his default neutral expression: there's a spark in his big blue eyes that Kagami hasn't seen before.

The stranger, unfazed by the ...wait, is that a kunai?! What kind of weird ass shit does Kuroko carry around.... that had been flung in his direction,  smiles brighter at Kuroko's sudden entrance, and raises his floppy-sleeved palms up in a sign of non-confrontation. 

"Ooooaaaa, that was a close one, Kurokocchi! Not holding back, as usual haha!"

Kuroko....cchi?

"It's been a while, Kise-kun."

Hold on.

"Kuroko, you know this guy?!"

The bodyguard shuts his eyes and, if Kagami isn't mistaken, clicks his tongue.

"Oh, Kurokocchi and I go way back. I'm sure he was expecting me <3" Random Ikemen-no, 'Kise', chirps, further driving Kagami into a state of confusion.

Way back..? Expecting...? So he's not here to start shit?

But every one of Kagami's instincts is telling him that this Kise guy is dangerous...much too much to let his guard down.

"Wait. So he's your friend?"

"YEAH!"  "No."

Critical hit. Kise takes a moment to stagger back to a proper standing position, barely recovered from the mental blow.

"Ehhhhh, you're so mean, Kurokocchi. Just because we haven't seen each other in forever...or is it because you switched sides?! But that doesn't mean you can't come back! Play with us again..."

.................switched sides?

Whatever they're talking about, Kuroko isn't having any of it. In his usual cool tone, he rebuffs with:

"I know I've made my stance clear; He should understand by now. This will be the last game, if I can help it. Then, if you'll excuse us. Come on, Kagami-kun."

"Wh-? Okay..?"

Of course, no matter how hard Kuroko smashes the Close Door button, Kise still follows them into the elevator, resulting in a very awkward ride down to the main floor; Kuroko stands in front of Kagami the entire time, not exactly glaring, but still causing Kise to lose a lot of HP with his icy countenance.

"Kuro-"

The disembodied elevator voice lady announcing their arrival to "Lobby" cuts Kise off, and the doors swing open.

 Kuroko stays close to Kagami, remarking over his shoulder in a tone that is somehow both harsh and gentle:

"I don't know what your job today is, but I should let you know I won't let you touch Kagami-kun."

Oi, what's this guy saying? Okay, so he's Kagami's bodyguard, but somehow... his delivery is really embarrassing!! And what's this 'won't let', Kagami can take totally this risky blonde thing himself..........maybe.

Kise doesn't look happy about the blunt rejection: he's peeking his fingers from without his sleeves to run his hands against along throat, working through some internal struggle. With great effort, he shrugs it off with:

"Ah, I see, okay.............. Well, don't worry about that, I just wanna talk, I have this lett-"

All three men react at the same time.

Kuroko: Moves forward so fast he appears as a blur, extending his arm out to meet the closest assailant, Mask I, docking the man right in the throat. Mask I goes down, fox mask skewing to the side as their head makes contact with the floor.

Kise: In one motion, he reaches down to pick up the gun of the fallen man, pushes his weight onto his arm enough to flip his entire body over and kick Mask II in the face on his way back down. Foot still in contact with their head, Kise uses it as a stepping stone to head onto the next....head.

Kagami: Instinctively rushing forward, ignoring Kuroko's sharp  "KAGAMI-KUN", dodges the trained, but inferior-to-Taiga strike of a fist, and elbows Mask III right in the masked face.

"Who the fuck are these people?" he shouts over his shoulder, already faced with another attacker. There are fourteen...no fifteen total.

.......what the fuck? Is this a mob raid? Who sent these disposable, culty-looking guys?? Is this what it's going to be like, living as the 'heir' to his old man, or whatever???

HONESTLY.

"Hey. Pretty-boy."

"Ehh, don't look at me, I'm not with these people!"

While Kise's character and Kuroko's treatment of him leave a lot of room for doubt, Kagami has to admit that he's fighting the Masks. Like, pretty one-sidedly.

His fighting style is almost....graceful, not a single unnecessary movement as he drops three, four opponents at once.

Not that Kagami is admiring that weirdo or anything. (Maybe a little.) Either way, he's much distracted by the sudden presence at his back, a stray Mask that must have snuck up behind him. He turns swiftly, using his right arm to block the trajectory of the hand blade that was surely aimed for his throat.

With no hesitation, he rams Mask (??) into the wall and rams his forehead into theirs, cracking both the mask and the assailants consciousness with the blow.

In the same moment, he experiences a sharp pain in his left inner elbow, as well as his shoulder. Still recovering from the self-inflicted head pain, Kagami grits his teeth and prepares to retaliate.

What the fuck is it now?

The heir rips his arm out from whatever grip is holding it and spins around to face this latest Mask attack. The head is lolling slightly, probably from the pressure of Kise's chokehold.

"Aha, that should be the last of them," he chirps brightly, dropping the 'sleeping' man quite unceremoniously onto the ground.

Kagami is left unsettled...did this guy just sav-...have his back?

"Right, Kurokocchi?"

Kuroko nods in affirmation, which is honestly pretty unnecessary, considering there are like seven bodies lying crumple at his feet.

"Are you alright, Kagami-kun?" he asks, and Kagami isn't sure if it's his imagination that he hears a slight waver to the question.

"I'm sorry that you had to get involved yourself..."

"Nah, I'm fine. It's been a while since my last fight, anyways, and this was nothing." Kagami responds, not untruthfully. He's been restless for a while now, and even though the opponents weren't anything special, he still got to see some interesting stuff. However, he still casually tucks his left arm to his body as he's speaking.

"So? What's with the stock mob characters?" he asks, kicking aside one of ones that are still squirming.

"Yes, and how did they get in? Miss Aida has at least five men stationed around the premises."

"She has what?!!"

"Lower your voice please, Kagami-kun"

"Are you KIDDING M-"

"Oh those guys?" Kise interjects, with a thumb pointing back towards the front entrance of the lobby.

"Yeah, I took care of them on my way in, I didn't think it would cause such a mess. Oh, but I didn't kill anyone, so don't worry! Hehe."

Kagami, still not recovered from the fact that Aida seems to have him protected everywhere and at all times, is now having a hard time 'not worrying' about the fact that some sketchy model-looking motherfucker with superhuman abilities, who apparently knows Kuroko, just casually immobilized Aida's personnel singlehandedly.

 But okay.

Kuroko's reaction is more of a resigned sigh, as if he should have known all along that's what happened.

"I didn't think they were with you, it's unlike your style."

Kise cheeks flush red and his golden eyes begin to sparkle, as if Kuroko had praised him rather than just made a casual observation. This pisses Kagami off for reasons he can't begin to explain to himself.

The three men simultaneously look down at the scattered assailants.

"But if you didn't bring them, then....surely... they weren't just sent by some normal group looking to cash in the bounty..."

Um? What else would they be?

[Saturday. 20:15. Bad News]

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Riko is distraught.

"Are you seriously telling me this is supposed to Momoi Satsuki?!!???"

Mitobe has already confirmed that yes, the picture in Aida Riko's hands is indeed a recent Polaroid snapshot of said informant (which was by no means easy to obtain, but Mitobe wasn't sent on this mission for nothing). Confirmed by at least two of her regulars. All he can do now is wait for Riko's, uhh, passionate reaction to subside.

"She's way too fucking hot..." Riko mutters through gritted teeth, clenching the photograph with trembling hands.

"Isn't this unreasonable? Shouldn't someone with her job be more, I don't know, lowkey? Like, the size of those...and her face...UGH."

".................?"

"What is she so upset about? Well...I think I can guess," Koganei whispers back to Mitobe. He'd use hand gestures to elaborate, but he's still in pain from recent events and doesn't need the holy wrath of Riko to rain down on him on the off chance she notices, in the midst of her (blood?)thirst-fueled rage.

"Oh jeez, she threw it against the wall. Must be tough, realizing your enemy is so attractive, huh?"

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

"Well, she seems to think we were attacked by this Momoi's people, but she still hasn't been able to confirm it, so the revelation of Momoi Satsuki's appearance has been a....blow. God knows how long this display will last haha...."

[Saturday. 20:26. Ciao]

"HUH. What do you mean?!"

"I said," Kise repeats patiently, flapping the photograph and resume in his hand to emphasize his words yet again.

 "I'm acting as a messenger for Xx-chan-...umm, Miss Xx of the Xx Family who decided, after news of your existence was leaked through underground channels, that she wanted to arrange a marriage meeting with you. Here's her profile!"

Kagami's hands pretty much move on their own to accept this absurd proposition, as his mind is still trying to reconcile what was just said.

"What. That was your job? That's it?"

He casts a quick look at Kuroko, who shakes his head. Okay, yeah, calling bullshit.

Though this all seems pretty real.......

Also:

"Then why did you fuck with security?!"

Kise winks, he actually winks, and answers without a shred of shame:

"There's no way Kurokocchi would have let me even come close to the building if he'd known I was coming!"

This time, Kuroko nods gravely.

"Though I can't blame him for worrying I'd be up to something worse. You know," Kise suddenly gets close to Kagami, and the heir feels the same shiver as before overcome him. Kise's voice drops down to a dangerous murmur, half-seductive, half-warning.

"If everything goes well for you two, and you manage to survive the others, I'll definitely be back for more."

Kagami pushes him back, his heart pounding in his chest harder than when he was fighting the Masks.

Kise receives this with a smile, flashing a goodbye in the form of a cheeky two fingered salute.

" You're pretty fun, let's play again! And Kurokocchi, even if you don't reconsider, I'll still..."

Pause.

He leaves just like that, as if he had never been here in the first place.

[Saturday. 20:30. Straightforward.]

"What.....was that all about??? I'm so fucking confused"

"I didn't think I'd be faced with such an elusive start. I'm sorry, Kagami-kun, for everything. He...Kise-kun...we met when we were children. There are others as well, on a team, and our upbringing was...unorthodox."

"So you're like childhood friends?"

More like child soldiers.

"I can't explain myself well in this environment, but...in any case, when I caught wind that my former...teammates were assigned to attack you I saw it as my chance. To atone not only for my own sins, but also stop them at any cost. And you just happened to be the main target."

I thought it would be more straight forward, like it was in the past.

"..............o-...oh."

[Saturday. 20:31. Was This Even Necessary For Me To Put This Short Bit In? No, But I Sure Did It Anyways]

A rather happy 8-bit tune resounds through the room, and Riko immediately snaps back to reality to pick up her phone.

"Kuroko? Sorry I didn't contact you until now, I couldn-.........................WHAT?!"

[Saturday. 20:38. For Now]

"Yes. Yes, the situation is under control. I've managed to make contact with the disarmed security, they seem to be fine. Yes. Yes, ma'am. I am sorry about all of this. No, aside from a few scratches. .......yes. Alright. Take care, we will be waiting for you inside the lobby. Yes. Thank you."

A dense silence falls after Kuroko hangs up. The bodyguard forces himself to sneak a glance at Kagami, who is sitting slumped against the wall of his apartment's entrance, head bowed, the shadows over his face making it impossible to read his expression.

Kuroko had known the truth would come out sooner or later, and it's not as if he had done anything wrong, but somehow...there's an itchy, nervous feeling in the back of his throat.

".......Kagami-kun, I-"

Without warning, Kagami stands up suddenly, and Kuroko's words falter.

Is he upset? He has every right to be, being used yet again by the person who's supposed to protect him.

Well, it shouldn't matter, Kuroko can still protect him, there's no particular reason the young master has to like him. But somehow....

"AAAAH. What the hell was up with that, anyways? Geez, am I seriously that valuable? Or is shit always like this in this country? I don't get it. And you,"

He turns directly to Kuroko.

"You know some seriously annoying people."

Kuroko blinks with surprise. He's not wrong.

"But he was strong....really strong. That Kise guy. He didn't even do anything to me, but I couldn't go against him."

The young heir's red eyes are positively blazing now. What was it about this brief exchange that's got him so fired up?

"........Interesting. I don't really get what this 'game' is, but if it means breaking out of this dull life...we'll be up against more interesting guys like that?"

We'll be up against? Kuroko never fails to be amazed by Kagami's boundless energy and passion. Where does it come from...

"You're not upset that you're involved with my former colleague, and the only reason I agreed to guard you was for my own personal dispute with them ?"

"Ummmm" kagami rubs the back of his head, sharp eyes angled back in thought.

"I don't really understand that complicated shit.? The way I see it, we're on the same side, right? Like, us, against...I'm not sure? I'm guessing there's history there you don't really want to talk about? Is it important for me to know?"

Kuroko takes a minute to process this, slowly running through the words over in his head.

"......................Kagami-kun really is an idiot, aren't you?"

".....................you wanna fucking go?"

But Kagami's expression softens, and he turns his head quickly, leaving Kuroko to note the red flush on the tips of his ears.

"Ahhhh, I'm hungry! We still didn't get to eat" The young heir remarks with unnecessary force, looking anywhere but at Kuroko.

Before Kuroko can respond, the loud shrieking of car breaks sounds from the outside, followed by an aggressive slam of a car door.

3

2

1

Click.

BAM.

Aida flies through the door like a bullet. She's wearing a leather holster over her bandaged shoulder, which can be seen from without her poorly buttoned shirt. Her cheeks are flushed, probably from running like hell to get here.

"Oh, thank GOD."

Her check-up takes less than a second, as she discerns that all injuries sustained by the young master are minimal. Afterwards, her body twitches as she makes a motion to throw her arms around Kagami, hesitates, then punches him right in the abdomen.

"When I got the phone call, I thought my heart was going to stop," she murmurs tearfully, ignoring Kagami's belligerent reaction to her method of showing affection.

"Thank goodness you're barely hurt."

"Ummm, you're one to talk, what happened to you?!"

"... Just a scratch, don't you worry" Riko brushes off the question pretty poorly, pulling back to her usual self. She stands back to take a look at the unconscious assailants. She turns over one of them with the heel of her boot, frowning deeply as she scrutinizes his bloodied features.

"This guy..." she mutters, clearly to herself, light brown eyes narrowed in recognition, Kuroko is sure of it.

"That's fine. I'll deal with the rest of the situation here. Jesus, you guys really did a number on these bastards. Oh, and you mentioned a third party, Kuroko?"

"..Yes. He just came to deliver a marriage proposal on behalf of the Xx family. He...left the premises unscathed."

"Hmmm."

Aida bites the knuckle of her index finger as she mulls over her options. Kuroko knows she's nigh-openly suspicious of him, as she has every right to be. But she's also overwhelmed by every single person that wants to kill, kidnap, kiss, and corrupt her principle, Kagami Taiga, and in the end she opts for safety first, answers later:

"Get Kagami-kun to safehouse B. We'll talk later."

It's only a matter of time before everything comes out into the open, but it's nice to have some buffer between truth reveals.

Which is fine. Judging from Kagami-kun's reaction.... it'll work out fine.

"What are you smiling about?"

Kuroko startles at the question: he's never been accused of 'smiling about' something before.

"Was I?"

"Yeah.."

A perfect idiot.

[Saturday. 21:43. Fancy Pants x2]

It has been a while since this house last received a welcome visitor. All kinds of worthless criminals, rebellious elements, 'friends of the family' have been passing through, clouding the halls with their unseemly presence; those who wish to use and to be used, in the worst possible ways.

So for the first time in a long time, Akashi Seijuro finds himself smiling, if only slightly, at the sound of the shoji door sliding open from behind him.

He waits until the soft pad of footsteps on the tatami floor close up next to him before turning around to face his 'guest', who kneels before him. A vial of red liquid slips from out of his sleeves and is placed in front of Akashi, like an offering.

"You're late," he begins, shutting his left eye as he speaks.

"Ryouta."

"Geeeez, Akashicchi, did you know those hit men were going to be there today?"

"As much as you did."

Ryouta lets out a brief peal of laughter, sinking his weight more comfortably against his feet.

"Was it really necessary to get me to sneak blood out of the poor kid? I'm sure there were more legit ways to take care of that..."

"Not so. It seems Kagami Sr. has taken great pains to keep any official or unofficial contact away from his heir."

"Is that so? I guess I wouldn't want strangers putting needles in my son. If I had a son."

This house is usually cold, too cold, but right now Akashi is feeling comfortably warm. It's nice.

"Still, I'm surprised no one asked for blood samples or DNA proof until after the bounty."

"That is because I was the one that originally leaked the information of the existence of the Kagami heir. And my word is absolute"

Ryouta looks amused by this, and he hums in agreement with a curt nod of his head.

His outer appearance is almost too relaxed, but Akashi can tell with a glance that he's strained: the muscles in his jaw are slightly tensed; his hands, which are hidden by his sleeves, are clearly balled into tight fists, pressed against his thighs. His eyes are clear, but for how long?

Akashi sees everything.

"I trust you're ready for the second phase. Or has your resolve wavered now that you've met with Tatsuya?"

Ryouta shakes his head once, twice. He's biting the inner part of his bottom lip.

"Akashicchi.....this game is a little different than the others, huh?"

"The general goal remains the same."

"........Yeah? Well."

The model accepts the envelope detailing his next role to play. Judging from his reluctance, Akashi can tell he already knows the contents. Still, Kise makes no complaint.

He just smiles.

Akashi feels another throb in the back of his left eye.

Next.

[Saturday. 22:05. Bad Girls Do It Well]

Momoi would like to believe her upbringing has lead her to a solid grasp on basic domestic life skills.

Setting cooking aside (she's in denial), the lady is proficient in such things including: sewing (you know, like... sewing wounds shut), handling cleaning products and chemicals (uhhh, though more often than not for uses outside their 'intended purpose'...), wielding kitchen knives (okay, maybe not so much 'kitchen' knives as just any and all forms of blades), and of course, removing blood from all kinds of materials.

That said, it looks like it's going to take more than some cold water to save her dress, which is currently reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock painting. Since no one actually died spattering their blood on the fine crêpe chiffon, there's no need to burn it,  so it looks like Momoi's due for a trip to the dry cleaner's...it's been a while.

Ahh, well. Before any of that, the information broker needs to shower off the sweat of today's unexpected labours: turns out the surprise attackers that drove Aida away, subsequently ruining Momoi's plans, were a group of skilled but terribly unfortunate punks from a small gang running loose on the West end of the city.

After spending a good nine hours hunting down the instigators, Momoi had to twist their arms a bit (metaphorically, but also literally) to get them to admit to trying to sabotage Aida Riko because of the recent Kagami Taiga bounty that was issued.

Momoi does not doubt the sincerity of their words, mostly because her little blood-letting demonstration on team leader really showed them exactly how serious she can be. However, her suspicions regarding the incident, especially how convenient it was for these randoms to just happen to come in at that particular moment, are growing stronger. Well, enough about that..

Before she knows it, Momoi's already pulled up to the street next to Dai-chan's apartment. This often happens, her body just finding its way over here, especially after particularly strenuous jobs. That's the power of lifelong friendship, for you.

Checking for any stray late night passersby, Momoi gets out of her car and makes her way up to Aomine's door, which she opens using one of several spare keys she had made.

She steps into the living room to find her childhood friend lying with his back on the ground, surrounded by files and papers. While Momoi knows he's been working much harder now that Tetsu-kun and a game is involved, but even so, it's a little disconcerting to see him awake at home at this hour, when he's usually sleeping or out ...philandering.  

"Satsuki," this disturbingly diligent Aomine starts, waving a dossier, not bothering to comment on Momoi's disturbing appearance.

"What exactly is it about this plain woman that's got you so fired up?"

Momoi doesn't need to look at the file to know what he's talking about. She snatches the file out of his hands and puts in on his face.

"Dai-chan isn't the only one that's starving for some real competition, you know?"

Aomine smacks the file off his face and turns his head to the side with an almost-pout.

"You keep saying that shit. I'm not starvin-"

"You mean you didn't quit working for Katsunori because you were hoping he'd send divine retribution your way and you'd finally get the challenge you wanted?"

Aomine has no response for this outside an unintelligible grunt. Nice comeback.

"Aida Riko..... Although she's young, she's known for rising the ranks fast to take over Kagami's security from her father, as well as her exceptional analytical abilities. You're reading her reports, you should know all the delicious things she's accomplished. Besides,"

Momoi places a finger to her smiling lips.

"There's nothing I love more than taking serious, righteous people down a peg."

"Wow, you don't look it, but you're actually quite the sadist, aren't you, Satsuki?"

This time, Momoi doesn't have a response.

"Well! I'm going to use your shower."

"Hmm? Yeah."

Seems he's now preoccupied with a text message he just received.

Momoi gets halfway to the bathroom before walking back and peeking her head into the doorframe.

"By the way, how'd your confession go?" she teases, making sure she gets a good look at Aomine's face to gauge his reaction.

"Hah??? Stop opening your mouth, Satsuki, if only shit comes out of it. What confession?"

.....................................is what Momoi expects to hear.

She doesn't expect Aomine to pause, crinkle his nose in thought, then rest his arm over his forehead with a heavy sigh, still clutching his clutching the cellphone in his hand.

Oi, oi. You've got to be kidding.

"Hey, Satsuki. There's no way Tetsu's gonna go along with that idiot, right?"

"..I think Ki-chan knows that as well."

"Yeah.....so he really hasn't changed. Still chasing after the same old shit."

Momoi's not sure, but it's starting to sound more and more like Dai-chan is talking about himself. She blinks a few times, still thrown back by this sudden burst of honesty.

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

"Satsuki?"

"Dai-chan, are you not feeling well?"

"Huh?"

"A fever maybe? Let me check your temperature."

"Wh- Don't touch me with your gross bloody hands, that's disgusting."

"You sit tight and wrap a blanket around yourself, I'll go make you some rice porridge."

"What, you're going to make me 'food' so I get sick for real? I'm good, thanksss."

"DAi-chAN"

Aomine has to physically get up to usher Momoi into the bathroom. He throws a clean towel in the room and slams the door shut, leaving his childhood friend to raise her eyebrows at the state of the shower. Eugh... he really should clean this up.

She strips off her dress and drapes it over the sink, suddenly overcome by the realization that she has nothing else to wear.

Wrapping the towel around her body, she cautiously exits the bathroom, calling for Aomine:

"Hey, I don't have a change of clothes is it okay if I use your-.......eh, where'd he go?"

She's met with the sound of the apartment entrance door clicking shut.

[Saturday. 22:16. T_T]

Text message: [Unknown: Same place we met earlier today.]

He's sitting there at the bus stop, with his head tilted up and resting against the back of the bench. His skin looks especially pale under the surrounding sickly white fluorescent lights, and his golden eyes are glassy and unfocussed as they stare up at the bleary night sky.

Ah, that's no good.  That spaced-out, apathetic expression is reminiscent of a Kise from long ago.

 "You actually came for me," Kise notes with a small laugh, sitting up to greet Aomine with what cannot possibly be a genuine smile, not when he was making that face literal seconds ago.

"I didn't think you would."

"Hmph. Why'd you wait, then." Aomine retorts in a rude tone, as if he doesn't actually care to know the answer. He does.

Kise starts to laugh. He holds a hand to his mouth to stifle the sound.

"Doesn't matter anyways, I was already dumped once today."

Slowly, the giggles die out, becoming quieter and quieter, but his shoulders continue shaking until Aomine realizes that Kise isn't laughing.

He's choking back sobs.

AH! WAIT. AHH.

"I know he's not in the wrong, of course K-kurokocchi knows what he's doing. I don't know what but.... but it still hurts."

Tears just start gushing down his cheeks. Something akin to panic wells up inside Aomine's chest, but more than that... this kind of reaction is good. It's good. Compared with the blank Kise from before....

"It still hurtssssss. All I ever wanted was to play together again. B-but I can tell it's not gonna be the saaaaaaame this time."

He covers his face with his forearm, and continues crying.

He's this upset over Tetsu, huh. Since the beginning, Aomine's been ignoring the reality of meeting Tetsu again, and what that's going to mean for him. The emotions are too many and conflicting to deal with, and besides, Aomine's in control of his own feelings. He just needs to uhh...focus on what's in front of him, for now.

For once.

He waits until the sobs subside before slapping Kise on the back. Hardly comforting, and he can tell there's a lot more Kise wants to say, but...that can wait.

"Alright, alright. I get it. Just come back to my place."

He says this in a gruff voice, causing Kise to sniffle and squint up at Aomine with watery red eyes. Somehow being stared at directly like that...Aomine looks away.

"Eh? Why's Aominecchi being so nice......................... Haha that's kinda creepy. Are you okay?"

First Satsuki, now this. These people are so rude, what the fuck exactly is their impression of Aomine?!????

"Sh...shut up. Let's go."

.

Kise's mood improves greatly as they walk their way back to Aomine's apartment. He doesn't say much, but he lets out a hum every so often that Aomine is almost concerned. An emotional Kise is much harder to handle, he'd forgotten.

He pushes open at his unlocked door...

only to be greeted by a dripping wet Momoi, who is clad in what is obviously Aomine's shirt and a pair of his boxers.

"Momo...cchi? What are you... doing here?"

Shit, Aomine had completely forgotten about Satsuki. He feels this situation slipping out of his grasp, and before he can think of the reason WHY he's panicking, Aomine turns to Kise to explain:

"Oi, Kise, don't misundersta-"

"MOMOCCHI!!" Kise cuts him off to run up to Momoi and collapse into her arms, body slumped to match her height.

"KI-CHAN!!"

"Momocchi...sob..."

Kise's waterworks start up again, and the model bawls into Satsuki's shoulder while she rubs his back with a soothing "there, there!" and stares her pink eyes directly into Aomine's. She doesn't need to say anything for Aomine to read the look she's giving him.

She does anyways.

"Don't be jealous, Dai-chan." Momoi mouths, still consoling the sobbing blonde mess with gentle hushes.

Who's jealous?

"You can comfort Ki-chan all night long" she continues, this time with enough volume to the whisper that Kise pulls back, blinking the tears out of his eyes.

"Did you say something, Momocchi?"

"Yes, it's pretty late, you should just sleep over here tonight. RIGHT, Aomine-kuni??"

Two pairs of sparkly expectant eyes stare back at Aomine.

After a pause, he clicks his tongue and turns to leave the room.

"Suit yourself."

[Rainbow Road Part 1. Earlier on Saturday, sometime around 15:11]

A bar?

Of all the places Himuro could have imagined Atsushi dragging him out to....

It had taken about an hour to reach this place, situated on the West side of the city. Neither swanky nor sketchy, the easily missed building holds a sign up front that reads "D R I V E". As it's still early in the day, the interior looks completely empty, with some chairs still stacked upside down on the tables.

As Himuro and Murasakibara go through the door, a very small bell heralds their passage through the entrance, and they step into a small, but tastefully furnished establishment.

Oak wood panels, glossy black furniture, impeccably clean.

The only other person in the room is a raven-haired man standing behind the bar, wiping a crystal glass with a white rag. He freezes upon the arrival of the gangsters, mouth set into a hard line as he somehow stares right through both of them.

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

Murasakibara is the first to break the silence with:

"'Sup, senpai."

Whoah, whoah, whoah, senpai?

"What the fuck are ya doing here?"

Despite his words, the barkeep's tone isn't hostile, only faintly exasperated. Himuro has never met anyone aside from Madame Araki to speak to Atsushi in this way. And such familiarity...

The man flashes his light grey eyes over to Himuro, and for a breath of a moment he looks taken aback.

"And why'd you bring the Dragon with you? Actually, how'd you find me?"

Murasakibara waves away the barrage of questions with a lazy shake of his head. A lock of his violent hair ends up covering his face; he does nothing to remedy this.

"This place isn't bugged, right? So do me a favour and-"

"A favour?"

"-and just explain some shit to Muro-chin, k?"

"No, it's not 'k', I have a job. Explain what? You're as unbelievable as always."

"Is it a big deal? Just tell him about Teiko."

"If it's not a big deal, then do it yourself."

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

"..............................ugh. It'll cost you."

"Like, I know the deal, okay. It's fine if I'm back in two, riiiight?"

"Goddamnit, Murasakibara. Okay. Can you turn the sign up front to close the bar on your way out?"

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, Muro-chin, this guy's gonna answer all your questions, so I'll be back later, k?"

"What. No, wait, Atsushi--..ahh he's gone."

And with that, the door's bells tinkle with one final farewell, leaving Himuro alone to face the strange angry barkeep. He can feel those grey eyes scrutinizing him, his gaze unwavering, so he just stares back and waits.

"You really are as breathtaking as they say," the man finally states, matter-of-factly, and finally sets down the glass he was wiping.

"Damn that Murasakibara for dumping this on me without warning, but I can't say I'm too upset to listen to your request."

.............................So Himuro wasn't being sized up.. he was just being checked out? Well, at least he's used to that by now.

"....You seem to know who I am."

"Well. The Araki Clan isn't exactly an unknown current in the underworld."

Himuro struggles for a moment to think of the best way to ask this man who the fuck he is and what the fuck is happening. If he's a recommendation from Atsushi, he must at least be trustworthy....ah, but is that true? This is the first time Atushi has ever introduced Himuro to anyone, there's no real precedent for this situation.

"What is .... Teiko? You mentioned it earlier.."

"Oh, cutting straight to the chase are we? How much do you know about what Murasakibara was doing before he joined up with the mafia?"

"Only bits and pieces of what Atsushi told me. He was placed with some other children, they were all trained...to kill, and do other things. Ummm, one of them is a model now, I think?"

"That's all?"

"Uh....Haizaki Shougo,"

The barkeep's eye visibly twitches.

"I met him the other day. He told me that these people play 'games', that change every time. Though he said it was just a 'fucking farce'....well, he said other things along that vein."

The barkeep grimaces for a moment, then reaches below the bar to pull out two bottles of alcohol, one reddish-brown, the other clear.

He drops four icecubes, 1 2 3 4 into a glass, and pours in the bottles while maintaining eye contact with Himuro.

"You really are in the dark, though it's not surprising. And you feel personally invested because...?"

Himuro hesitates: how badly does he want to share personal information with a stranger in a public (albeit closed) bar. On the other hand, while Atsushi might be a little 'out of it' so to speak, Himuro trusts his intuition. And he did say this place wasn't bugged.

"Their collective target this time is Kagami Taiga...I have a lot of history with this person, and I didn't even know he was in the country until Atsushi brought up his mission. I don't want to get involved in the bounty, I just want to see him again, and understand..."

Nijimura nods, slides over the finished drink.

"What is this?"

"Just drink it."

"Oh, no thank you?"

"If you want to hear the whole story, you're gonna want to start drinking."

Himuro isn't generally considered 'obedient', but he complies, taking a tentative sip. It's bitter, but the burning feeling in his throat is not unwelcome.

"Thanks...uhh.."

"Ah that's right, I forgot," barkeep finally smiles, holding his hand out to Himuro to shake.

 "Sorry I didn't introduce myself: you can call me Nijimura."

[Sunday. 00:02. Mild Spice]

"Good luck, Midorimacchi!"

"Die."

"Ehh-"

But Midorima has already hung up.

Kise sighs and flops onto his back, flinging his phone somewhere closer to the pillow. He spreads his arms out, acknowledging that today has been a long fucking day.

Aominecchi sure likes to pimp out his sleeping places: the bed is spacious, queen-sized, covered in several layers of silky soft sheets. It smells like him, too.

He could just lie here forever and ever and ever and never leave, that would be bliss. Mhm.

"Yo. Get the hell off my bed."

"Awwww, come on, Aominecchi. Momocchi's got the futon in the spare room, and you can't expect me to sleep on a couch."

"I don't care, get out of the bed. Die."

Ooooh, twice in a minute. That's got to be a record.

Kise just shuts his eyes and folds his hands over his chest. He's way too comfy and tired and willful right now to give this up.

"Noooooo. There's room enough for both of us, isn't there?"

"Like hell there is."

It isn't until Kise feels his place in the bed sink under a weight that he blinks his eyes open once again.

Too close.

Sitting on the side of the bed, one hand pinned down by Kise's head.

He's still wet from his bath, his hair and the neckline of his white t-shirt both soaked. He's frowning, but there's a certain glow to his dark blue eyes. Rather than menacing, Aomine looks...

 A tiny drop of water rolls off his face and drips onto Kise's mouth.

"Heh," Kise actually smirks, licking his lower lip.

"Are you gonna make me, Aominecchi?"

"Why," Aomine starts, his deep voiced laced with confliction, his brows knitted with some internal agony.

"Should I share My bed with you!? Only I'm allowed to sleep in my bed!"

And with that, he scoops his hands under Kise's back in order to slam dunk the model right onto the ground.

But Kise is ready with a counter: without hesitation, he wraps his legs around Aomine's waist before he can be tossed off the mattress.

This leads to a brief struggle that ends up with both men tumbling onto the ground. Aomine hits the back of his head against the wall, while Kise, landing on top of him, smacks his forehead into the same wall a moment after.

"Ah, FUCK."

After a brief recovery period of groaning and clutching of their respective head injuries, Aomine and Kise move to untangle themselves from this mess.

"What the fuck are you doing??"

"Ummm, you were the one that started it?"

"HUH?"

Aomine manages to sit up, rubbing his head, with Kise now sitting between his outstretched legs, his thighs still on either side of Aomine's waist. An only marginally less precarious position than the one before.

They glare at each other for a good long minute, gold vs. dark blue.

Kise feels the heat rise in his cheeks.

"Jeez, Aominecchi, you're so inhospitable" he pouts, grinding his hips forward...just a bit. To test.

"Yeah, well you're just fucking annoying" Aomine snaps back, fingers twitching several times before he cautiously slides his hands onto the small of Kise's slightly-arched back, and pulls him even closer towards himself.

"Then why'd you let me cry all over you? Hmmm?" Kise teases, tilting his head to the side, aware that he's treading in dangerous, dangerous territory.

"It's 'cause I'm so great." Aomine replies, brushing his lips against the side of Kise's throat.

The model runs his own fingers through the short blue locks of Aomine's hair. Hmph, not as soft as his own, but that's to be expected.

"Hey, Aominecchi. Are you sure about this-? Ahh."

"Mhm"

The sensation of Aomine's nipping under his Adam's apple almost makes Kise lose his train of thought.

"Like, really, really sure??"

"Mmmhm."

"'Cause you know, you cast me aside in the past, so I was sure you hated m-MPH!"

Aomine pulls back but keeps his head lowered, hand over Kise's mouth all the while.

"Shut up. And what about you?" he mutters into Kise's neck, still not moving.

"Are you okay with this? Even after all this..."

Aominecchi with such stunning lack of confidence is a rare sight...and yet he's not pushing Kise away. He's clinging, pleading in his own way.

Kise can't respond with words, especially not with his mouth covered like this. So he wraps his fingers around Aomine's wrist and pulls his hand away just enough...to kiss his palm.

Run his tongue along the length of Aomine's middle finger, then suckle at his fingertips.

This is Kise's answer.

Naturally, Aomine finally raises his head at this (un?)expected response, and Kise can feel the heat of his dark blue gaze.

He is transfixed with the situation for a while longer, slipping in his index and ring fingers into Kise's mouth as well. But he pulls them out soon enough, to tilt Kise's chin up and sink his teeth into Kise's lower lip, hard, eliciting a small moan of happiness from the model.

After the bite comes a soft kiss.

This is how they are.