Betrayal in its simplest form

Chapter 19

Kuroko crouched down, squeezed his eyes shut, and pressed the palms of his hands against his ears out of desperation. His knees pressed against his chest, the teal-head ducked his head down and flinched when another onslaught of violent knockings abused the outside of his door. Even with the plugging of his ears, Kuroko could still hear the loud, cursing voice through his room.

"Fucking brat!" the voice screeched. "Get your ass out here! I'll kill you!" More vicious knocks pounded against the door, followed by colorful words that would make a sailor feel ashamed. The doorknob rattled endlessly from her constant attempts. Kuroko only winced and tried to ignore her. "Let me in, Tetsuya! Damn it, where is the screwdriver? I swear, I'll kill you when I get to you!"

Kuroko Ibuki stood outside, livid, her teeth clenched while heavy breathing came through both her nose and mouth. Both of her hands were balled into fists, but in the left hand, a crumpled piece of paper was grasped tightly. Court summons it read in crimpled, black font. How dare that brat—how dare he involve the court system into this? How dare he cause me trouble; he has nerves to ruin my public image.

"Let me in!" she screamed and kicked hard at the door. Some of the paint chipped off from her heel.

The teal-haired teen only prayed for his father to come home, soon. He knew it was useless, though, since his father would be gone for most of the day. They hadn't planned for Ibuki to come home, however, because of the note she left this morning.

When another kick was aimed at his door, Kuroko scrambled up and dived for his phone. His shaky hands accidentally pressed the wrong number twice, but he finally was able to get his thumb to push down on '3'. Since it was speed-dial, the phone automatically started calling for the needed person.

"Tetsuya?" Never has Akashi's voice been so relieving to Kuroko.

"A-Akashi-kun," Kuroko said but flinched when Ibuki started another string of curses and hollers, along with more punches and kicks to his room.

Akashi heard it, even if the phone was not on speaker. "Is your mother dangerous right now, Tetsuya?"

Kuroko's free hand grasped the tiny fiber of his carpet, scared. "Hai," he choked out, but made sure his voice was loud enough to be heard over Ibuki's yelling and quiet enough so that his mother wouldn't know he was on the phone. "Otou-san is not home."

"You do have a closet in your room, do you not?" Akashi asked. "Go inside your closet."

"H-hai?"

"Inside your closet. Now."

With his blue eyebrows furrowed, Kuroko slowly stood up and stumbled toward his small closet, trying his best to ignore his mother's screams. He slid open the door, stuffed himself in, and closed it. Immediately, a black sheet of the night sky hung over his eyes. He couldn't see or hear anything but his mother's curses. This made the teal-haired teen even more agitated, as he could not see what was going on around him. He closed his eyes, but opened them after, since it made no difference.

"Why do you want me in the closet, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko shivered when he heard yet another attempt to unlock his door lock. He had barricaded the door with his chair right under the door knob, so that his mother would still not be able to turn the knob even if the door wasn't locked, but it still didn't make him feel safe.

"Close your eyes, Tetsuya," Akashi said, his voice low. "Lean your back against the wall. Take slow breaths."

Even through the phone, Kuroko obeyed Akashi and started to take slow, but deep breaths through his nose. His pounding heart was suddenly very loud to his ears.

"Do not listen to anyone or anything but me." His former captain's authoritative voice ran deep through Kuroko's mind. "Tetsuya, you will be obey me."