Title: The Ace and the Master
Author: imaginary_witness

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story, living (or passed) human beings or fictional characters. These events never happened, according to history or as the original author intended them. This is a work of fiction and is not intended to offend. For entertainment purposes only. Thanks.

It was a good day for basketball. The sun was out, lazily rising to its peak, steady in the early noon of the day. A gentle breeze stirred the air, causing Ryouta Kise's blonde hair to dance in the wind. He laughed wholeheartedly, a strong sound against the weak buzz of voices surrounding him and his friend, Murasakibara. The purple haired giant yawned and stretched his arms above his head.

"What's so funny Kise-chin?" he mused.

"Oh, it's just a wonderful day!" Kise chirped back.

"Perfect for basketball."

"Yeah."

The pair had stretched out on the grass just beyond their school's soccer field. It was the middle of May, though summer had indeed started to usurp the springtime. They were in their PE class together, just as the pair had been throughout their junior Middle School days, and had completed their five kilometer run.

Kise raised a plastic bottle of water to his lips and drank, the water perspiring from the bottle clinging to his hand. "I am still energized from the run."

Atsushi Murasakibara looked down at him out of the corner of his eyes, his face held upwards towards the sun. "I agree."

Teiko's Center stood suddenly, as sudden as a man of his size could, and looked down at his friend, offering his hand.

"Let's see if we can take a basketball out to the court."

Kise's eyes followed his friend's arm from hand to eyes, then nodded in agreement. He took his hand and was pulled to his feet rather quickly but shock off the surprise. Despite being friends with the boy for years now, Kise still couldn't find himself used to their height difference.

"Akashichi wouldn't mind, would he? That we'd be playing outside?"

Murasakibara chomped on a crunchy bar he pulled out of his shorts pocket. "I don't think Aka-chin would mind, Kise-chin. I think he'd be happy we are practicing."

Kise nodded, the distance between them and the outdoor court closing. As they neared it, a familiar thumping noise was made audible. The noise of a basketball.

"I wonder if Mine-chin is sleeping on the roof today?" Atsushi mused as they walked, the dribbling of the ball naturally speeding up their heart rates.

Kise chuckled. "He would enjoy it up there today."

"He and Aka-chin have a lot in common, wouldn't you say?"

Kise pondered that for a moment, tilting his head slightly and taking another drink from his bottle. He hadn't expected the converse about his captain. "I suppose so."

"Well," Murasakibara went on. "They both thrive at basketball, love the gym, enjoy certain foods...I mean, they do have their difference: Mine-chin likes to sleep a lot and isn't as good in academics as Aka-chin. But they both have the same values."

Kise was silent as he absorbed all this in. It was one of those moments where he had taken Murasakibara for granted and forgotten that he registered more than just basketball and food.

"I suppose you are right." he finally said.

The pair was silent and had just rounded the corner of their school building when they saw the pair that was facing off on the court. It was a small red-haired boy with his back to them and a taller tanned man - the very pair they had just been talking about.

Without acknowledging the new arrivals, the tanned male leaned back and placed his hands on either sides behind him, keeping the ball behind him as he dribbled defensively. The redhead just sunk lower into a crouch, keeping level with his opponent. He kept his footing loose, eager to read and respond to whatever occurred next but open to any chance opportunities he could take.

The taller male looked up and over the smaller's shoulder, pondering whether to throw the ball to his blonde friend or not.

"If you pass to Ryouta I'll take it as a sign of defeat." his opponent growled.

The tanned male stepped back. Pretending he wasn't surprised at all that his Captain knew his teammates had arrived from behind, he kept the ball out of reach and brushed his blue hair back with his free hand. "I know no defeat, Akashi."

"Keep your focus, Daiki. I don't need your attitude."

Seizing his opportunity, Akashi stepped forward to the left quickly before veering off to the right and swiping the ball out of his opponent's hands. But that wasn't good enough to get by Aomine Daiki. The bluenette was on the redhead in a moment and it had become more than a footrace to the hoop. The redhead faked a far throw, crossed over the ball and faked ducking under the larger man before continuing along his original route.

He reached up, meaning to make an easy layup when Aomine's hand blocked the basket from reach. Without another sound, Akashi tossed the ball back and used his other hand to toss it in. The pair both landed on their feet audibly only to find Kise and Murasakibara clapping at their display.

"That was amazing, Akashichi!" Kise exclaimed.

Akashi smirked, tossing his red bangs out of his face and looked up to his Ace. "Had enough?"

"No way! You just evened the score!"

"Did not! I usurped it!"

"Hah! No!"

Murasakibara rolled his eyes and leaned down so his lips were at Kise's ear. "See? They are both so stubborn."

Kise giggled, watching his teammates banter back and forth. "You're right Murasakichi! They are alike!"

"What are you guys doing here?" Aomine chirped up, looking over at Kise and Murasakibara. "Aren't you guys in class or something?"

"Phys Ed." Murasakibara muttered. "But we just had the run today so we figured we'd warm down a bit on the court."

"Mmh. You?" Kise asked.

Aomine was lost for words. "I was, uhh..."

"Ditching. As usual. " Akashi retorted.

"Hey!" Aomine cried. "You make it sound bad when you put it that way!"

"It's the truth. You were cutting class again." Akashi turned his attention to Kise. "So I decided I'd make him do something more useful than memorizing all the words to his music."

Kise chuckled, thinking of Murasakichi's theory.

"Yeah, well -" Aomine challenged. "Hey! If you were out of class, you were ditching too!"

"I was not, Daiki. If you must know, I had completed all my work for my class and had requested that I be allowed to go to the gym to train. But upon my way there..."

"Yeah, yeah. You ran into me walking down the hall and listening to music. I get it, I get it."

Kise met Murasakibara's eyes and the pair chuckled.

"How about 2 on 2?" Aomine declared suddenly, sensing the unbalanced shift in their conversation.

"Or 1 on 3?" Murasakibara grinned.

Aomine stuttered. "Why? There's four of us! Oh, come on! There's two forwards, so you can have Kise and I'll-"

"I hope you're not going to say you'll have me. Because honesty Daiki, I'm afraid I'll be making all the plays by myself." Akashi cut in.

Murasakibara laughed out loud. Kise smirked and couldn't stop the giggle that burst from his lips. The feared and unstoppable scorer had gone pink.

"Akashi!" He howled out in pain. "That went Too far!"

"Did it?" Akashi checked his watch. "I find it just a mere exaggeration of the truth."

Aomine slammed the ball to the ground hard and watched his captain's face for any sign of fear, but the red-haired man showed none.

"Alright." Murasakibara cut in, Kise guessed to ease the tension. "We'll play."

Kise set his water bottle down and stepped up court and further from Murasakibara, who had taken his usual position under the hoop.

Akashi also fell back, leaving the center of the court to a familiar one on one Kise had been in several times before.

It wasn't a familiar game to Kise though. Several of his shots were instantly blocked by Akashi, who had appeared out of nowhere when he swore he caught a break. And he hadn't had to cross the midline to defend once. With the addition of Murasakibara and Akashi, things had drastically turned Kise's usual one on one against Aomine on its head.

The battle veered back and forth and the ball was constantly crossing mid-ground when Akashi had called for a stop in play. Kise realized it was the first game that he had played where him and Aomine hadn't scored on each other a single time.

"Take a small break." Akashi ordered.

Kise scowled but picked up his water bottle all the same. He didn't want to take a break when things had been so excited. He saw Murasakibara raise the bottom of his shirt and wipe his hair with it, taking a large sip from his bottle afterwards. Around him, Aomine and Akashi both took drinks as well, stretching and pacing to keep from dropping their heart rates so suddenly.

Akashi waited until the bottles had been placed down before resuming their game. Kise vaguely noted that their captain had barely begun sweating.

In a blur the game was back on. Aomine darted passed half court and stopped in front of the key. Kise had immediately come forward to guard him and Murasakibara hung back to block any easy high shots. A common guard with Kise against Aomine, even for in a one on one. But then things immediately began to go sideways again. Without taking his eyes off the hoop, Aomine faked a shot and sent the ball backwards. But it didn't stay on that course for very long. Akashi had reached out and taken the ball around Aomine, using him as a screen against Kise. Taking advantage of his smaller size, he darted underneath Murasakibara and around to gently toss the ball up and into the hoop behind him. The first score of the match so far.

Murasakibara hissed.

Kise growled.

"I could've stopped that easily." Murasakibara muttered.

"Why didn't you?" Akashi pressed.

"I didn't want to hurt you. Otherwise, it would have been too easy."

"Don't hold back on me over pity. Either you block your opponent or you don't."

Aomine grinned from the midline. "Akashi's right. Let's go all out. I can feel a good vibe in the air."

"You can feel a good nap tonight is all." Kise smirked.

Play commenced and the ball was brought deep down into their opponent's court. Murasakibara stood at the midline, a common place to be when his team had the advantage. Kise took the advantage to copy Aomine's pass exactly, gently tossing the ball back over his head and towards Atsushi.

Murasakibara caught the ball and brought it up court but passed it over Akashi's head to Kise again to prevent a steal. Akashi hissed.

Kise was once more face to face with Aomine, the only obstacle standing in front of the hoop. He planned a good fake, perhaps another, and then a layup to even the score. But Aomine was closely the distance between them quickly to prevent a good jump shot. He crossed over and tossed the ball back to Murasakibara, hoping he could use his height to their advantage and just shoot the ball into the hoop.

But the moment the ball had been brought down by Murasakibara, Akashi had swiped it out from under him. Getting low to the ground, he dribbled to the midline and passed onwards, leaving the ball at the center of the court for Aomine to grab on his way up.

Kise stayed on Aomine's heels, watching and waiting for an opportunity to steal the ball back. Murasakibara was already back under their hoop, keeping a high guard up.

"I won't let you score this time." He uttered, growling to Akashi through clenched teeth.

"The score will rise regardless." Their captain retorted.

He eased back, signaling Aomine with his bright eyes. Kise didn't ease his guard, keeping right next to Aomine.

Akashi pushed back more, stepping out of the key. He was waiting, Kise figured. It was a moment until Kise realized that he was screening Murasakibara and that Aomine had slipped behind both of them. Akashi released the ball and it hit the backboard. Murasakibara jumped, watchful of how close Kise was to him, and hit the ball on the rebound back towards the center. A flash of blue and Aomine had slammed the ball right back down into the hoop.

The pair fell back to the ground panting, the ball landing with them. Akashi stood and clapped his hands together slowly, smirking. Kise reached for his bottle.

"Very good. I am impressed."

Murasakibara glowered. "I-"

"And I told you, the score would rise, regardless of whether I had made that shot or not."

Murasakibara went silence.

"I am playing alongside the unstoppable Aomine Daiki." Akashi teased, brushing up the Ace of the Generation of Miracles ego.

Aomine smirked, stealing some water from Kise's water bottle. "Oh Akashi, don't brag."

Akashi only smirked and sipped his own water. He brushed his hair back and let the wind gently tug his loose T-shirt around him, staring out into the distance.

"There's one thing I'm not understanding." Kise spoke up, a thought biting at his mind. "Why are you playing outside, Akashichi?"

Akashi stared out distantly and a small smile graced his lips. Though he parted them softly, no words escaped. A moment's silence followed, and then:

"You guys should probably be getting back to class now."

Kise and Murasakibara both stared out at where Akashi was watching; the last of their classmates arriving at the end of their run.

"Yes." They both agreed and hurried off to file into the gym with the rest of them.

"That was fun!" Kise called back.

"Let's do it again sometime!" Murasakibara called.

After the pair had departed, Aomine stepped closer to Akashi. The wind picked up just slightly, spring forces fighting back against the summer sunshine.

"Eh, Akashi? Why are you playing on an outdoor court?"

The blonde's words have aroused a curiosity in the bluenette.

"There are classes in the gym Daiki." Akashi didn't hesitate to answer. "How else would I get you to play against me?"

Aomine stared at the back of his captain's body, noting the small shoulder blades and gently windblown hair. He stayed silent for a moment and then a small gasp escaped him as he came across a double meaning in Akashi's words.

"But why me?" He found himself pressing for an answer, circling around to lift Akashi's chin with his finger. "Why do you play so hard against only me?"

Akashi only smirked. To give Aomine an answer would show a sign of weakness. And the Emperor wouldn't have that. Instead, he simply turned and walked away.

Aomine didn't stand where Akashi had left him. Instead, he followed after him persistently.

"Akashi." He called.

The redhead just placed his water bottle down on the concrete and wrapped his jacket around his shoulders.

"Akashi. Hey!"

Aomine reached over and placed a hand on his captain's shoulder. He jumped back, well aware Akashi might attack him but found his guard unneeded. Akashi made no assault. He didn't turn at all.

"I like to play against you, Daiki. You're a good opponent. If you had the brains, I would challenge you to a game of Shogi as well."

Aomine blushed and smirk triumphal, puffing his chest out a bit. If he was a good opponent for Akashi, it meant he was strong. Which was as close to a compliment as he could get from Akashi.

"I- I accept that challenge!" He blurted out.

Akashi turned around slowly, his eyes sliding slowly to look at Aomine from the side. "You ...would challenge me to Shogi?"

Aomine gulped. "Uhh, yeah. Like, how hard can this dumb game be?"

He felt his face grow hot and his temperature rise. He didn't want to play some stupid chess game, especially against his, at times, psychopathic captain who loved it. But he didn't want to leave the challenge unresolved. A part of Aomine knew he would lose. But at the same time, he knew it would mean a lot to Akashi to verse him.

He stared at Akashi then, meeting his eyes and freezing in them. For a moment he understood the psychopath before him. Akashi wasn't crazy because he hated everyone, he was just frustrated for having no challenges at all. In a sense, he felt the same way Aomine was feeling about basketball.

"I'll verse you." he declared. "But you're going to have to teach me first."

Aomine stretched out, basking in the warmth of the sun on the rooftop. It was warmer up here than on the ground and that made it perfect for a nap during the afternoon. He bundled up his jacket as a pillow and put it under his head, pausing to fish an old plastic take out tray from the pocket and toss it over the edge of the roof into a trash can below.

"So boring." he muttered to himself, not bothering to watch the trash make the basket.

He lay down and jumped up, startled, when the trash had made its way back up into his lap. He looked around and jolted back when he noticed bright red hair at the top of the ladder to the roof.

"You!" he glowered.

"Shh. Keep your voice down or someone will hear us."

"No one listens to anyone up here because no one is supposed to be up here, Akashi."

"Sush!"

Aomine obeyed and lent out a hand. "Well, hurry on up if you're coming up here. And mind your shadow, it's a sunny day out."

Akashi took his hand and climbed up. "It's like being on a pirate ship." he exclaimed, staring over the edge and at the school yard around them.

Aomine stiffled a giggle. Was Akashi really this childish in his off time?

"Well, I suppose."

The pair sat cross-legged on the roof, staring at each other for a moment.

"So what are you doing here?" Aomine asked.

"I came to teach you." his captain answered, as if it were a completely normal thing to do on a typical day.

"Teach me?" Aomine only repeated, a slight chuckle in his voice.

Akashi's only answer was to pull out a board with a nine by nine grid on it and a small velvet bag of pieces. He set them down on the roof before Aomine and sat waiting for him to speak.

"What is this?" Aomine stated bluntly, sounding tired.

"This is Shogi." Akashi answered, drawing open the velvet bag and beginning to place the pieces on the board in their places.

Aomine sat there with his mouth half open, a small smirk of disbelief gracing his features. He watched as the captain's slender hands organized the board into what seemed to be standard setup.

"So, it's just like chess, right? I just have to capture your king, right?" Aomine mused, one hand under his chin as he observed the board.

"Yes. The goal is the same, but the pieces are a little different. In Shogi you have pieces called Gold, Silver and Lance. There is Queen piece as well."

"Okay." Aomine dragged out. "And what do they do?"

"Gold can move one square in any direction except diagonally backwards. Silver can move one square diagonally in any direction, as well as one square forwards. And Lance can move any amount of squares, forward only. This all changes if and when you promote your pieces."

Aomine watched as Akashi pointed out each piece, trying to keep up with the instructions of the game.

"Why can't we just play basketball?" He mused.

"Well, if you can't bother-"

"I'll try, I'll try." Aomine forced himself to concentrate on the board before him and not on Akashi, who was smiling in eagerness. "Just give me a minute to figure this all out."

Akashi sat patiently, watching Aomine trying to move the Gold, Silver and Lance around and mixing up their available moves. He forced back anger at how long it was taking to teach his Ace and focused on helping him understand the game. The sun had moved positions in the sky by the time Aomine felt confident in his ability to play against Akashi.

"Let's go. But this...this is just a practice round, got that?"

Akashi smirked, still eager for a challenge. He often played against Shintarou, but the stern male with bottle-green hair often just gave up towards the end of the game and surrendered to any of Akashi's first available checks. And Ryouta and Atsushi were just helpless. He versed them together as a team once and after four hours had only gained seven pieces because they kept deliberating their next move. Daiki. Daiki would be a fresh challenge and hopefully have more brains to verse Akashi.

"You're black. You go first." Akashi whispered.

Aomine glared at him. "Don't be so racial." he teased.

Akashi smirked. "You're playing as the black suit of the game, Daiki. In Shogi, black goes first."

Aomine's mouth twisted upwards into a smile. "I'm just teasing you, captain."

"And since when did you start doing that?"

Aomine forced himself to concentrate, Akashi had already set up his first move to counter his own, he was sure of it. He stroked his chin and stared at the board.

Within the first three moves Akashi had made, he had taken the first hostage of the game. Aomine grimaced as he watched his piece be plucked from the board, realizing he had made a fatal error leaving it unguarded. But all was sacrifice in this game, it gave him a chance to see how Akashi moved and worked. In a sense, it gave Aomine a chance to see into his captain's twisted mind and find the root of how he devised his plans.

"My, my. First piece down and you're not even bothered. And the bishop is a good piece too."

Aomine didn't say anything. He didn't want Akashi's taunt to get to him. He didn't want to look at Akashi and see the glint in his eyes. He had seen it one too many times whenever they trampled over their opponents on the court. Akashi was maleficent when he was versed and showed absolutely no mercy to any that opposed him. Aomine vaguely wondered how he was still breathing having challenged Akashi for so long.

Aomine made his play. Seeing an opportunity he set up his pieces for a capture and won himself a Gold.

"Well played." Akashi taunted, seizing himself a Silver.

Aomine growled low in the back of his throat. He didn't want to admit that the game was getting to him but it was indeed. He found it fueled a fire long burning to challenge his captain, his ruler.

Then suddenly it dawned on him. Once he dethroned Akashi, what would he do? He certainly didn't want to take his place, as some others would thrive to. And he wasn't sure of how Akashi would react if he was beaten. His captain was manic at points, especially at points where he was close to losing. And he was never desperate. Would he hide away in exile after Aomine beat him? Or would he lose his battle to the other Akashi, the second Akashi, and kill Aomine for his rebellion? Would he be so shamed as to kill himself?

Akashi stared at Aomine as he thought, mistaking his thought for strategy. He didn't like to push in a game of Shogi as much as he enjoyed to in basketball. But this was Aomine, this was his Ace.

"Aomine?"

Aomine's attention shifted from the board to his captain's eyes. "Captain, did you just address me otherwise?"

Akashi bit his bottom lip. He motioned to the board with his eyes, not bothering to address Aomine's statement.

Aomine stared blankly down at the board before reaching and moving a pawn at random, not bothering with strategy anymore.

"Akashi, you just called me Aomine."

Akashi stared blankly at him. "Yes. And?"

"It's uncommon for you to."

"What is your point?"

"I want to know why."

"No reason really. You're reading too much into it."

Aomine stared at Akashi, deliberating for a moment to state the words on his tongue. He decided to play it safe, unsure of what sharp object his captain might be carrying with him this day. But after commencing their game in silence for several plays, Aomine couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Is it because I'm good at basketball?"

Akashi's hand stayed on a piece he was about to slide forwards. His eyes traced up Aomine's chest, his fingers at his chin, before meeting his eyes. He didn't hold his gaze. Slipping his piece forwards slowly, Akashi sat back and wrapped his hands around his ankle, sitting in a half-cross legged pose. He interlaced his fingers and met Aomine's eyes, symbolically giving him his undivided attention.

"Is it? Are you always challenging me because of that? Because I can verse you?"

Akashi made no attempt to respond.

"Akashi. You tie with me. Isn't that enough?"

Akashi's eyes looked from Aomine to the board then to the school roof.

"Aomine," he whispered, his voice lower than usual. "You challenge me. That is all."

"Is it all?"

Akashi watched as frustration built in his Ace. Aomine clenched and unclenched his fingers before sporadically moving another piece. It was a capture of Akashi's pawn and it had him even with Akashi's hostages.

Akashi smirked, looking at the board. He nudged it forward with his knuckle.

"This. This right here. Only you can do that. Only you have stood by me and against me. Can you understand now? It's magnetic almost."

"I'm not even that good, Akashi. I'm not a worthy opponent for everything. This," Aomine motioned to the board. "This is you, not me."

Akashi looked up at him, his red bangs dropping over his crimson eyes. "I see."

"Eh?" Aomine blurted.

"I...have to go."

Without another word, Akashi rose and grabbed the edges of the ladder. He pressed his palms against the rails and, as Aomine would, slid down the metal sides rather than climbed back down.

Aomine stood and tried to keep his view on the redhead, but he had vanished from sight by the time Aomine had gotten to the edge.

Aomine turned and stared at the unfinished game of Shogi, left lying in the sun. At first he wanted to kick the board as hard as he could and see all the pieces dance in midair. But then he thought of his captain and what conclusions he would come to if he were to find them. A part of him felt sorry for Akashi but a part of him still didn't understand why he himself even bothered. He thought about something he heard Kise tell Murasakibara earlier that week, "They are alike!", and wondered vaguely just how alike he and his psychopathic captain were.

"Why, oh why do I bothered?" Aomine mused.

He sat back down and went to relax but just the prescience of the game bothered him. He sat up and scowled, staring at the board as if it would burst into flames. But the board just sat there, taunting him.

He stared at the unfinished game a long time before pressing a fingertip to a piece and sliding it forwards.

"Hmph." He declared, completing his turn. He thought that it would make him feel satisfied, finished. But it only bothered him more.

Sitting up, Aomine stared at the board. 'What would Akashi do next?' he wondered.

He didn't leave the board until the game had finished. And even though he wasn't even there anymore, Akashi still won the game.