Chapter 2

A Grave Case

6 years after the fated meeting

Aida Riko pinned a new photo to her board. Mayuzumi Chihiro. Twenty-two years old. University student. He now represented the oldest victim, the oldest one to be kidnapped by a criminal who has grown increasingly bold and infamous. He now held ten young men between the ages of sixteen and twenty-three years old captive. These victims shared nothing in common, except their unique (and quite latent) gifts. But Aida knew the clock ticked down for these ten. A total of twenty-four known victims; only the bodies of these few remained unfound. Aida wondered how much longer that would last; how much time they had before they would find another tortured, mangled body. It disgusted her to think of the things the victims, mere boys, before finally succumbing to death.

Aida took a step back, leaning against her desk to view the entire case. She saw too many possibilities, too many variables. She had no clue as to what was going on, nor did she understand the 'why' behind the culprit's motivation. The evidence they collected little by little suggested he or she wanted to run experiments, but to what end, they could not understand. The consistencies—found in the bodies—and the inconsistencies—found in the profiles of the victims—made no sense. They remained unable to delve deep into the mind to of the one causing these horrific deaths.

Someone knocked on her door. She told that person to enter. Hyuuga Junpei walked in with a manila folder in his hand. He closed the door behind him, glancing at the board. His jaw tightened. He handed her the file.

"Coroner's report on the last body just came in. Same condition. Scarring and abrasions on wrists consistent with being restrained, he suspects they used metal. This body shows signs of the rejection of human blood cells, calcium deficiency, protein deficiency, iron deficiency, a slight increase in the enamel compared to the other teeth, severe dehydration, starvation, and burns caused by UV rays," he listed off. Aida pursed her lips, opening the file. She flipped through the papers, lingering on the photos.

"He also went through the transformation," she murmured.

"He died before the completion of the process," Hyuuga informed her briefly. "Cause of death: complications of transforming due to a lack of proper nutrition."

She gave a huff of frustration.

"This case is sick. That bastard has been turning people against their will, then putting them out in the sun without a drop of blood during their weakest state. It's abominable and unforgivable.," she said bitterly. "What is he trying to do? This can't be a simple, twisted murder."

Her subordinate hesitantly opened his mouth. "I don't know. But I have to ask…if it would be a good idea to ask for help in this case."

Aida frowned. "We are already one of the best teams in our field. Who could we possibly ask for help?"

Hyuuga looked away as he answered.

"Kiseki no Sedai," he replied. "Rumor has it they had grown bored after their separation and are looking for something to keep themselves entertained. Especially their leader."

She narrowed her eyes, and marched over to the board. She slapped in hard, a few pictures fluttering to the ground.

"You want to give something to relieve their boredom?" she demanded. "They don't care about what happens to the victims."

"Perhaps not, but frankly I don't care about their investments as long as I know that they can bring these victims back safely," he said calmly. Aida recoiled slightly, a guilty expression on her face. She passed a hand over her eyes swiftly.

"You're right," she admitted quietly. Aida then bent down pick up the photos that fell to the ground. "I will put in a request to the council to get permission to contact them."

Hyuuga came over to help, kneeling in front of her. Their knuckles brushed and Aida looked up. She saw the concern in his gaze and wondered what she did to deserve such a wonderful friend and subordinate.

They left the room after collecting all of the photographs and pinning them back to the board. They were unaware of the single photo resting just under the board, lying forgotten.

The passage of a week saw the arrival of two more bodies, one of a high schooler who had been missing for sixth months, the other of Mayuzumi Chihiro, the eldest. Both bodies shared evidence of the same awful conditions, same cause of death. The office looked quite grim, at a loss of what to do since no one had discovered anything new. Aida's entire team appeared hollo-eyed and gaunt. Each member put in countless hours of overtime, hoping to solve the case, or at least find another clue.

Aida walked into her office, taking a moment to study everyone. They all seemed so very tired now.

"Good morning," she greeted her team. They looked up at her, giving varying degrees of enthusiasm in their responses. She let the less enthusiastic replies slide, especially Kagami's. "I know how hard everyone has been working. I appreciate all of your efforts. However, I think it's time we all admit that this case is beyond our level of skill to solve.

Some of the people looked crestfallen, other looked both relieved and guilty; guilty because they gave up so easily. Kagami, on the other hand, looked enraged.

Nonetheless Aida continued on. "We aren't giving up just yet. We're going to get some help with this. Our new partners will be here today, and I want you to treat them with respect. Is that clear?"

"Who are these hotshots?" Kagami asked, equally irritated and curious since he felt that his boss had been speaking to him directly. Everyone in the room stared at Aida in concern and shock when she did not answer immediately. And she didn't have to answer. The elevator dinged, announcing the arrival of its inhabitants.

The room all turned to look, their jaws dropping and eyes widening as the doors opened. Six heads of unique color, four of the occupants quite tall. And the presence they omitted felt so oppressive that it would have surprised no one to see the entire room collapse in on itself.

The leader of the group walked forward, size shockingly average, hair bright like fuchsia, eyes similar. Everyone else followed him, looking quite impressive and downright frightening. A tall young man, violet hair tied back at the nape of his neck, wearing the clothes of a chef and smelling like sweets. Furihata wondered who this mad butcher would butcher for his next dessert. A second imposing figure, this one with green hair and a pair of glasses walked entered, a katana at his hip, fingers taped mysteriously. His state of dress, a doctor, seemed contradictory to the weapon he carried, and Kagami wondered if he represented a man who saved lives or reaped them. A dark skinned man stood out next, a confident and cruel smirk on his face, wearing a police uniform that matched his dark blue hair. Absolutely no one thought he looked respectable in the slightest. All suspected corruption lined his career sheet. Next to him strode a more positive looking figure, someone who had confidence in his walk, his expression. His clothes looked like a pilot's uniform, but the way he wore it made it look like something a model would wear. The office like his glow, as well as the one the pretty girl with pink hair emitted, her dress normal and sweet at the same time. She did not seem to come from the same stock as the other people she walked with.

The leader's gaze flickered to a tall man who stood in the corner. Recognition lit his eyes, and he gave a small inclination of his head towards the brunette. In return he received a small, adequate smile and dip of the head.

The group, with their intense collected aura, stopped before Aida. Their leader, small in stature, smiled. Everyone nearly swore that they felt the temperature of the room drop significantly.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Aida," he began with false brightness. "I am sure there is a reason that you called us together, taking us from our lovely mundane lives even though we expressed our wishes long ago so that we would not be disturbed without good reason."

"Hello Akashi," Aida replied stoically. "Forgive me for taking you and your people from your lives, however, we are desperate."

Akashi's pleasant smile did not leave his face. "Indeed. You want to catch a murderer, yes?"

"Among other things," she said quietly. Akashi's gaze flickered briefly, so quickly that she wondered if she imagined it. But from the way his eyes narrowed, she knew she had truly witnessed Akashi's brief lapse in the guarding of his expression.

"The file in your hand belongs to one of the victims," he stated, smile gone completely. He held a hand out to her. "May I see it?"

Strange, Aida thought to herself as she handed over the portfolio. I did not expect him to react at all. Does he know something about the victim, or perhaps he recognized him…?

Akashi skimmed through, flipping through to the details of the autopsy. After a moment he gave the file back.

"Akashi-cchi?" the blonde murmured, clearly unsettled by his leader's behavior.

"Your notes indicate that his age and ability resemble those of another one of the victims," he stated briskly. "And both stood out greatly from the other victims. Who is it?"

Aida frowned, looking at Mayuzumi's folder. Surprisingly, she found that she could not recall the other victim.

"I'll have to take a look at the board and the other files," she replied at last, moving hesitantly towards her office. Akashi moved to follow, the green-haired one quickly stepping up to stay by the side of his leader. The others quickly followed suit.

"Akashi, what is bothering you?" Midorima asked in a low voice. "The others can sense your uneasiness."

"We know the victim," Akashi replied, glancing at the others. Everyone from their group tensed, and even Muraskibara was not an exception to that rule. "If my suspicions are confirmed, we may also know another one of the victims."

"Who?" the doctor persisted. But Akashi did not answer. He did not want to be right, not this time.

They entered the room, Akashi surveying the board—which he found greatly lacking in information. Aida offered the seats to them at the meeting table, going over to her pile of folders.

"You don't remember the victims' names?" Aomine asked, scowling at her.

"There are so many of them," she replied. "I do know most of them, but sometimes one or two of them slip my mind."

Akashi approached the board, standing before it. He drew his calculating gaze across it, noting the single empty space.

"That sound irresponsible," Midorima put in. Aida bit her tongue, trying not to argue with any of them considering she heard rumors about their temperament. She did not doubt their ability to tear her apart limb by limb.

Akashi ignored them, seeing a fallen picture on the floor, He knelt down to pick it up, an he turned it over. His all-seeing eyes softened sadly, eyebrows drawing together. He then schooled his face and stood up.

"We'll take your case," he announced, photograph in hand. The members of his group looked at him. "Until we solve this case and recover the missing victims, I promise that we will not return to our normal, human lives."

The members of the Kiseki no Sedai recoiled. Akashi had never made such a declaration before.

"What?" Kise asked, completely dumbfounded.

"The hell, Akashi?" Aomine demanded.

"…my sweets…"

Even Midorima and Momoi looked as if they disproved but they remained silent, knowing that Akashi never did anything without a logical reason. And as expected, he gave them one when showed them the photo he had picked up from the ground. Instantly everyone changed becoming quite serious.

Aida felt the shift in the atmosphere and stopped in mid-motion, turning around to see what caused the infamous generation to take on such grave auras. She saw the photo Akashi help up and remembered it.

"That's him," she began, meaning the other victim who was similar to Mayuzumi Chihiro.

"Kuroko Tetsuya," Akashi finished. "Twenty-three years old. Born with a weak presence. We know who he is. And we plan to recover him."

No arguments arose; Aida only saw looks of determination, agreement—and worry. She wondered how they came to know a mortal well enough to suddenly become so concerned, especially considering who they were. But Aida sensed this matter might only be brought up amongst their inner circle, and no one else.

"I think I will make a few phone calls," Midorima said at last. "So that we can put our mortal lives on hold."

Akashi gave a small gesture of permission, and one by one the Kiseki no Sedai filtered out. At last only their leader and Aida stood in the room. The woman did not want to break the silence, but her curiosity and her determination to see this case through got the better of her.

"This human, how do you know him?" she asked him. Akashi regarded her coolly, still holding on to the likeness of Kuroko.

"Can you assure me that he is still human? He asked, the questions nearly coming from nowhere. It made her blink.

"No," she answered confusedly.

"Then I have no obligation to answer that. You only need to know that the Kiseki no Sedai have this victim's best interests at heart, and in our eyes, you did not protect him," Akashi replied quite bluntly. His rage was as cold as ice. "You failed to capture the perpetrator in a timely manner, and that allowed him to kidnap Kuroko, who I fear will never be able to live the life we, as the Generation of Miracles, hoped he would live."

Aida suppressed the shiver threatening to run down her spine beneath his scrutiny. He then gave her a small bow.

"I will take my leave before I do something violent towards you. Good day, Ms. Aida," he told her, walking out of the room. As soon as he left, Aida found herself fumbling for something to support her weight with. She drew in shaky breaths, wondering how she managed to anger the leader of the famed Generation of Miracles.