Betrayal in its simplest form

Chapter 18

Betrayal In Its Most Simplest Form

Chapter 18

Akashi looked at his watch and interally sighed. It was already almost noon. He grabbed the loose tie he wore and retied it before tightening it. Once again in a button-down shirt (this time black) and red tie, he stood in front of his family's house. For some reason, the red-head was hesitating to ring the intercom.

Yes, Akashi Seijuro was hesitating.

"I am quite busy today," he said aloud and looked at his watch, again. "I did plan to take Tetsuya—"

"Seijuro, I know you're out there. If you don't get your ass in this house in fifteen seconds, I'll stop paying for your home and kick you out onto the streets!" The intercom suddenly blared of a woman's snarling voice. Akashi blinked coolly, startled but it didn't show. There were only two people who could talk to and threaten him like that and be alive: his father and mother.

As expected of Mother, Akashi thought and walked in as the gates to the large house opened. The front door unlocked just as his polished, black shoes hit the steps. Akashi Hayato appeared at the threshold, his face tired and wary.

"Your mother is in the family room," he said, exhausted. "She is waiting."

"Hm." Akashi stepped inside his childhood home and took off his jacket to hang. "I received your email."

Hayato ran a hand through his hair. "Of course you did. It is the only reason why you came here, is it not?"

"That, among others," Akashi retorted. "Is Mother . . . well?"

"More or less," he said tersely. Hayato reached a hand and turned his son around by the shoulder to inspect him. He didn't know why Akashi was so short, while Hayato and Rin were tall, and he desperately hoped his son would soon receive a growth spurt, soon. "Your hair is getting long."

"It is not," Akashi said and stepped out of his hold. "I'd rather keep it like this." He turned around before his father could respond and started walking toward the family room, where his mother waited. His footsteps echoed softly in the large, lit hall. He turned and—rather slowly—set his foot in the desired room.

His mother's red hair was first visible before her whole body was when he kept walking inside. Akashi Rin sat on the luxurious couch with her legs crossed, one arm over her stomach, and the other holding a cup of tea to her lips. Her strange-colored eyes flickered toward Akashi as she drank calmly.

"Seijuro," she greeted as she sat the tea down.

"Mother," Akashi said in return. All Akashi's were awkwardly formal. "I am home."

"How convenient to call this house 'home'," Hayato said behind him, also stepping inside the room. "Sit, Seijuro."

All of them sat, and soon, they formed a triangle in the room. Akashi sat on the recliner at Rin's left, and Hayato sat on the other couch on Rin's right. Tea was served for Akashi, and the family sat in an 'awkward' silence, every one of them drinking their tea quietly and eating on the provided snacks. The red-haired teen sat back and crossed his legs. He stared at his mother with an expectant expression,

"You asked for me, Mother?"

Rin set down her tea rather calmly before running a hand through her red hair. "I did, Seijuro." Her cool tone had Hayato give a glance of pity at his son. "How is your friend, these days? His name is—ah, if I can recall, Kuroko Tetsuya?"

Akashi tensed internally on the inside. His mother did know, after all. "He is well," he said smoothly. "There is nothing particular to say about him."