Here is the new story :)
Ok, so a few heads up before you guys delve into the story:
1. This will completely ignore the time schemes. I'm going to upload the characters the order in which I want to write them at. So, for example, one chapter could be after the winter cup, and the next could be in the time when Seirin beat Kaijo at a practice match. I will put the time in which the chapter will be at, but I'm saying this now so you guys don't get confused
2. It is highly likely that the characters, aka victims, will be out of character. One because the plot demands it, and two because I just can't get out of my comfort zone to write really mean characters (cough cough Hanamiya, Haizaki etc) So, forgive me if I can't really write these types of characters well and let us hope that i will be able to write them better in the near future
3. The portraits/paintings that I will mention in each chapter are pictures I found on the Internet. To give you guys a better perspective on what the victims will be witnessing, I'll put the links up both at the end of the chapter and at my profile. Just remember to take away the spaces if you're too lazy to click on my profile and find it there. There will sometimes be more than one painting the character will witness, so head up
I think that's all for now, and if I remember more, I'll probably just write the others in the other chapters.
So, without further ado, here is the chapter!
Edited: The conclusion to Hanamiya's story
Title: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Rating: T
Pairings: None (unless you want there to be)
Time frame: A few days after the Seirin VS Kirisaki Daiichi match
First Victim: Hanamiya Makoto
Hanamiya Makoto couldn't believe his eyes. There he had been, running away from the seniors who had been 'persuaded' to quit the team, when he stumbled upon an unknown road that was dark as midnight. The only thing lighting the road was a small beam, as if a light was turned on from far away. He had decided to follow the light's direction, in hopes of finding some shelter since he obviously couldn't go back to his home with the seniors wanting his blood. When he had finally encountered where the light was coming from, he froze, bringing him to this situation. The house in front of him - actually, house was an understatement. It was one of the most luxurious mansions Hanamiya had ever seen, and he had seen many photos on the internet. He gulped, his guilty pleasure of money rising, and was about to take one step forward to admire the mansion even further when the door suddenly opened and came out a person Hanamiya never expected to see.
Why the hell was Kuroko Tetsuya coming out of the house with a garbage bag?
Hanamiya looked at Seirin's phantom sixth man with shock as said player was currently struggling to take out the trash. Hanamiya then came to the conclusion that Kuroko couldn't possible own such a house and this was just a part-time job he had taken to earn some extra money.
That is, that was what Hanamiya thought until a maid came out as well and accidentally bumped into Kuroko. When she finally saw the teal-haired boy, she bowed and apologized immediately.
"I'm so sorry, Tetsuya-sama!" The maid distressed and Hanamiya blanched for a full five seconds.
'Tetsuya-sama?'
"It is alright, Nakashima-san." Kuroko replied and reassured the maid, now known as Nakashima, who was currently shaking visibly.
"You do not have to refer to me so formally, Tetsuya-sama! And what are you doing?" She suddenly asked, noticing the garbage bag in Kuroko's hands.
"I was taking out the trash." Kuroko answered simply and the maid sighed.
"Tetsuya-sama, you know that you can just order us to do it." She exasperated and Kuroko shrugged.
"It is my trash. I should be responsible for it." Kuroko reasoned and the maid took the garbage bag from him.
"Tetsuya-sama, we are grateful that you don't want to bother us much. But this is our job. Please let us do it." She said and took the bag from Kuroko's hands. She then started to drag the heavy looking trash to the backyard. Hanamiya saw Kuroko looking at the disappearing maid with blank eyes before sighing to himself.
Kuroko was about to go back inside when both Hanamiya and Kuroko jumped at the loudening shouts. Hanamiya cursed and was about to run once more when his eyes met Kuroko's. Kuroko tilted his head before registering the more comprehensible voices.
"You're fucking dead, Hanamiya! You understand that?"
"Wait until I get my hands on you, little brat!"
"Dibs on ripping his head apart!"
Kuroko's eyes widened slightly before running to the front lawn and opening the ominous looking gate.
"Please come in." Kuroko said with his stoic voice and Hanamiya was about to decline in his usual snarky voice but was then pulled inside. He saw Kuroko holding his wrist tightly and before he knew it, he was inside the mansion.
Nakashima, who had just returned from taking out the trash, looked confused as to why Kuroko had just brought in a stranger when she herself heard the threats and shouts from outside. She raise her eyebrow at the stranger and Hanamiya just shrugged.
"And who might this be?" She asked, suspicious.
"He is one of my basketball opponents." Kuroko answered and though Nakashima gave Hanamiya a skeptical look, she sighed, giving up with trying to understand her boss's son.
"And I believe he will be staying for the night?" She then asked and Hanamiya looked at the maid with wide eyes.
"What?" He started to say but was cut off by Kuroko.
"Yes, he will. If it won't be any trouble, you would mind preparing the guest bedroom?" Kuroko asked politely and Nakashima smiled. Who would have thought that a boy with so much power and money could be so polite and humble?
"Of course, Tetsuya-sama." Nakashima then bowed and left the scene. It was then that Hanamiya registered that he was in a mansion with one of his most hated basketball opponents and he vehemently started to protest.
"I am not staying for the night with the likes of you!" Hanamiya revolted but Kuroko just pointed at the clock, which at the moment was pointing to 10:45.
"It is far too late for you to roam at night, Hanamiya-san. Besides, I doubt those people who were threatening to, as they said, rip your head off, are going give up on searching for you until morning. Even though I find you a despicable person, I cannot just leave the person alone and helpless when I know I can do something about it." Kuroko said bluntly as Hanamiya let out a rude noise at Kuroko's comment.
"You think I'm helpless?" Hanamiya sneered, eyebrows furrowing in anger, but Kuroko stared at him blankly before answering.
"Anyone would be helpless in this case. Please cooperate for today." Kuroko said and Hanamiya looked like he wanted to protest further. However, just as he was about to, another maid came in with an enormous package in her arms.
"Tetsuya-sama, your order has arrived!" She said enthusiastically and Kuroko bowed.
"Thank you for bringing that in. Would you mind leaving it in my room? And be careful. I accidentally spilled some paint on the floor that I have not yet cleaned." He added and the maid's eyes widened.
"Mou, Tetsuya-sama, you should know by now that we can clean that up for you. It's our job."
"It is my fault for being so careless."
"Even so. We'll clean it up immediately." Kuroko looked like he wanted to say something about it but the maid shushed him before going up the white and gold stairs.
"What was that? Porn?" Hanamiya snickered and Kuroko did not look amused for a second.
"They are materials that I needed. I am glad it came earlier than expected." Kuroko answered vaguely before motioning Hanamiya to come upstairs with him.
"The guestroom is upstairs. Nakashima-san must be done by now." Said maid was descending from the stairs.
"The room is ready, Tetsuya-sama." She bowed before leaving. Hanamiya was still very reluctant to go with Kuroko but his guilty pleasure as well his curiosity was gnawing at him with immense strength. So, eventually, he agreed to follow the smaller boy.
They had not even reached the guestroom and Hanamiya felt like he was in paradise. The hallway was shining brightly with chandeliers barely dangling from the ceiling and the walls were decorated with paintings that were ecstatically breath-taking. For a moment, Hanamiya wondered who had painted them for they were originals that he had never seen before, and he had seen many when he was younger. He was about to ask Kuroko about them but stopped at the last second. Just what was Hanamiya doing, being all buddy-buddy with Kuroko? He hated him, as well as the rest of Seirin. Kirisaki Daiichi was just defeated days ago and yet here Hanamiya was, agreeing to sleep in the same roof with the one man who had caused this whole commotion in the first place.
Just as he was about to back out of this whole situation, Kuroko stopped in front of a door and opened to reveal a room that may as well been bigger than his whole house. Hanamiya's eyes widened significantly and Kuroko gestured him to go in.
"I hope this room is to your liking. This room is normally for father's business partners but father is currently in Europe, so there will be no guests at the moment. Unfortunately, the bathroom in this room is out of order, so you will have to use the one at the end of the hall. Please have a pleasant night." Kuroko explained and walked away, remembering to close the door behind him.
Hanamiya took this time to inspect the room with complete awe. He walked hesitantly before outright running around the massive guestroom. The bed was covered with curtains that made it look kingly and around it stood sofas and chairs that looked antique yet modern at the same time. The ceiling, naturally, had a chandelier hanging and the lights gleamed with specks of gold reflecting a big mirror that was on the wall. Hanamiya took a 360 turn and finally collapsed on the bed, which was soft and unbearably comfortable.
Had it not been for his guilty pleasure for money and luxury like this, Hanamiya would have walked out immediately.
The bed took ahold of him and he was seconds away to passing out - he had been running away from his seniors for hours - but a painting on the wall caught his eye at the last second. He, with much difficulty, departed from the bed and walked over to the alluring painting. It was a portrait of a graceful looking woman with luscious white hair and a perfect face; perfectly curled eyelashes, fully puckered red lips, and green eyes that could capture one's soul with just one look. However, Hanamiya could detect that there was a hint of sadness in the woman's eyes, even though she was smiling brightly. His hand unconsciously reached to the hand that was plastered on the painting as well, and somehow, behind all snark and arrogance, his heart skipped a beat.
What was happening to him?
He immediately released his hand from the painting with force and stumbled back, now scared of the painting. He swallowed a lump in his throat and crawled to the heavily cushioned bed. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and tossed around the bed before finally getting to the position he desired.
His last thought before falling into a deep sleep was how a painting, a lifeless, meaningless object, could make him feel this way. As if the painted woman had single-handedly opened Pandora's box that was his heart with ease.
It was long over 3 in the morning when Hanamiya had the sudden urge to go to the bathroom. He cursed when opened his eyes because he hadn't had such a peaceful sleep in a long time. However, nature called and Hanamiya had no choice but get up and go. He stumbled into the room's bathroom but remembered at the last second that it was out of order and the bathroom he would have to use would be all the way down the hall. At first Hanamiya decided that it wasn't worth leaving the bed and he would just wait until it was completely morning, but after a few minutes, he couldn't take it anymore and barged out of the room in search for the godforsaken bathroom.
Once he was done, he felt refreshed and sauntily started to walk back to the guestroom when he caught a small gold light beaming from the corner of the hallway. Curious, he quietly walked to the end of the corner and peered his head behind the wall to see where the beam of light was coming from. His eyes laid on a closed door that had the light seeping through the crack at the bottom of the door and Hanamiya's curiosity peaked.
Cautiously, he tiptoed over to the ominous door and turned the doorknob gently. He mentally sighed in relief that whoever was in that door did not notice yet, and he carefully turned the doorknob all the way and pushed the door slightly so that he could see who the mysterious person was.
His eyes widened dramatically at the scene before him.
"Hanamiya-san?" Kuroko's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and Hanamiya, completely unlike him, started to stutter an excuse. However, he couldn't help but gaze at the mess that was Kuroko's room. Half of the room was covered with newspapers everywhere, even the walls and parts of the ceiling, and most of the newspapers were damaged with various paint colors, ranging from the basic red and blue to mixtures that did not even have names. Kuroko himself looked as if he was hit by the tornado of paint as his face showed signs of dried paint and his apron ruined by the variety of un-matching splotches.
And then, his eyes stopped at the hanged paintings that covered the rest of Kuroko's room. His heart skipped the same beat and Hanamiya clutched it, almost painfully.
"Hanamiya-san?" Kuroko asked once more and Hanamiya finally looked at the phantom sixth player.
"You… You drew the portrait, didn't you? The woman in the guestroom." He managed to say as his heart grew tighter.
"I did." Kuroko said slowly, unable to comprehend why Hanamiya was acting like this.
"Let me in. I need to… I need to clear something up." Hanamiya gasped out and pushed his way through, making Kuroko stagger a bit to get out of his way. He rushed to one of the paintings that was hanging on the wall and saw an intricately painted shadow in the middle of a ray of light, penetrating the shadow as if it were trying to make an opening in the darkness. He choked on air as he went to the next one. And the next one. And the next one.
Each made his heart break further.
And finally, just when he couldn't take it anymore, he saw a portrait of a face he knew so well.
"Kiyoshi...?" Hanamiya whispered, his voice strained. Kuroko just stared at the Kirisaki Daiichi player with a blank look.
"Why? Why do you have Kiyoshi here?" He asked as he collapsed to the ground. Kuroko didn't move to help him up or to even comfort him. He stayed uprooted in his place, only observing him.
"He is one of the people I respect the most. He is also the one who encouraged me to keep improving, even though I believed that I wouldn't be able to do it. If it were not for Kiyoshi senpai, Seirin would not be where it is today." Kuroko explained impassively and Hanamiya felt a sudden rage that even he could not explain.
"Then why? Why does he have that sad look in his eyes?" He raged. Kuroko tilted his head as he looked at the portrait himself.
"I see no sad look, Hanamiya-san. That is just your interpretation. It may be that you see a sad look because of how you feel like inside." Kuroko said and Hanamiya stopped moving.
'I see a sad look because of how I feel inside?'
"Hanamiya-san, were you truly happy when you hurt Kiyoshi senpai?" Kuroko asked but Hanamiya couldn't answer.
'How do I feel inside?'
"Do you truly feel happy with the misery of others?"
'Am I sad?'
"Do you truly enjoy hurting others?"
'I don't know. I just don't know.'
"Hanamiya-san?" Kuroko finally started to move to where Hanamiya was and when the Kirisaki Daiichi player felt a hand touching his back, he made no move to shrug it off.
"I don't know. I… just don't know anymore." Hanamiya croaked while Kuroko kept soothing him. That night, Hanamiya felt Pandora's box opening and finally letting out the only thing left: hope.
When morning finally came, Hanamiya opened his eyes to the warmth of the sun seeping through the windows. He stretched widely and yawned, covering his mouth in habit. He then registered that he wasn't in the guestroom and he remembered what had happened last night with Hanamiya's breakdown and Kuroko's somewhat calming tone.
Instead of feeling embarrassed that was to be disguised with arrogance and pride, he just blinked, only feeling grateful. He searched for the smaller boy and it took him three tries before he finally saw Kuroko hunching over a stool, looking very uncomfortable. Hanamiya sighed before standing up and walking over to the teal-haired boy. He was about to pick him up bridal style and carry him to his own bed when his eyes took a glimpse at Kuroko's new painting. His breath glitched and at that moment, Kuroko's eyes opened slowly.
"Hanamiya-san?" He asked drowsily.
"I didn't mean to wake you up." He said, completely unlike him.
"It is fine. I needed to wake up either way. Did you have a good sleep?"
"Yeah."
"That is good." The conversation died just like that and Hanamiya itched to ask two very important questions, the first regarding the unfinished painting he had just witnessed.
"Kuroko, what is this?" He then asked while pointing to the unfinished painting and Kuroko looked at it briefly before looking back at Hanamiya.
"It is something I want to finish when Seirin wins the Winter Cup." He answered and Hanamiya laughed. A genuine laugh, not one filled with cruelty and misery.
"And how can you be so sure that you're going to win?" He asked.
"I just know it." Kuroko said with a small smile and Hanamiya had an urge to smile with him.
"Well, it's looking good. Keep it up." Hanamiya said awkwardly, not used to being this nice, and Kuroko just nodded.
They both got ready to leave, Hanamiya to his home and Kuroko to basketball practice, and Nakashima was at the front door, waiting for both of them.
"Are you ready to leave, Tetsuya-sama?" She asked while bowing and Kuroko nodded. "I hope you had a nice stay, Hanamiya-san." She then said as she looked at the taller boy. He just nodded.
They walked to the gate and Nakashima opened it while still bowing. Kuroko thanked the maid before stepping out with Hanamiya. Nakashima left the two boys and went back to the house. They needed to walk their separate ways, and Kuroko bowed to Hanamiya.
"Goodbye, Hanamiya-san." He said, still stoic, and Hanamiya nodded. However, just before they separated, Hanamiya patted Kuroko's head while looking the other way.
"Mind painting something for me and my team, too?" He asked, embarrassed. He felt Kuroko tilted his head but then nod.
"Of course, Hanamiya-san." He responded and Hanamiya hid a smile.
"See you... Cunt." He added at the end, and with that, Hanamiya left the teal-haired boy.
Though Hanamiya couldn't see him, Kuroko gave him a small smile, grateful that a horrible person like Hanamiya could change for the better.
A month later
"Tetsuya-sama, what are you doing with that painting?" Nakashima asked as she stared at the small boy struggling to carry portrait that was twice his size.
"I was going to the post office. I need to send this to someone." He responded while shifting the wrapped up package to make it more comfortable for him. Sadly, it failed. Nakashima sighed with a smile on her face and helped him carry it.
"What did you paint this time, Tetsuya-sama?" She asked as Kuroko thanked her for the help.
"A team." He answered simply and Nakashima's eyes glittered with recognition.
"Is it the young man who slept over a month ago?" She asked and Kuroko looked at her, a bit shocked.
"You still remember him?" He asked and Nakashima nodded.
"I recall that some people were to trying to… Rip his head off?" Kuroko nodded and they both went outside.
"Yes, that is him. He requested that I draw something for him and I could not reject." Kuroko elaborated.
"Did it come out well?" Nakashima asked as she waved at one of the man servants to help them. Kuroko smiled slightly.
"Yes, it did." He said softly and Nakashima smiled warmly at him.
"Then, I do believe that we should send this to him as fast as we can. Sasaki-san, would you mind helping Tetsuya-sama?" She asked as the man servant, now known as Sasaki, came towards them. Sasaki, in turn, nodded.
"I do not need help." Kuroko tried to protest but Nakashima shut him down.
"Tetsuya-sama, you can barely hold this without tripping." She said and Kuroko couldn't retort back. Sasaki took the package from him and held it with no problem. Kuroko bowed at Nakashima for helping him and went his way with Sasaki to the post office.
Once they were gone, Nakashima recalled when she had gone inside Kuroko's bedroom to start cleaning up and landing her eyes on the unfinished painting. Though some color was missing on people's faces and the depths and dimensions were not that prominent, no one could deny the emotions each person was carrying on the portrait.
The one in the middle, Hanamiya as she remembered, had tears in his eyes, clutching his heart and having his teammates surrounding him with equally tearful faces. It did not say much but anyone could see the deep connection they had with each other, as both a team and as long lasting friends.
'Hanamiya's a lucky person to be getting something so beautiful. Tetsuya-sama, your artistic boundaries seem to have no limit.' She thought as she went back inside the mansion. 'Let the other one be as breathtaking as this one.'
So, what did you guys think? A fail, a miss, a success? I need your opinion on this to continue :)
Portrait of Kiyoshi: t0 . gstatic images?q = tbn : ANd9GcQUbZSnkOL 76p4a62cGFtcvyk 3pbkq3Z _ hjk _ DcBqZ27qZrLFe3Q (don't forget to take the spaces out :))
Portrait of Hanamiya (and team): www . zerochan 1644442
Anyways, I hope you guys really liked this :)
For next, I have no idea what the next story will be but it will be between these three:
1. Abuse Isn't the Only Thing I'm Afraid of: It's pretty much a Maximum Ride story and I don't think most of you will know this one. It's basically a Boys Over Flowers adaptation with the characters from Maximum Ride. I need to update soon because I've been neglecting it again lol
2. Who Am I?: I upload this one a week ago but I wrote a bit over what I had expected so I can upload another chapter without affecting the length. But uploading this is highly unlikely because I did just upload last week.
3. Happiness in a Broken Body: This is an Avater: The Last Airbender fanfiction and let me just say, this is something I truly want to write. And yes, it will be angst-worthy. I won't say much about this one but I think I will write this one to upload next week. If you're an A:TLA fan, please check it out when I upload :)
That's its for me and I really hope you enjoyed reading this
Peace,
FlyAndDontLookBack