Riko shuddered, her consciousness growing more faint by the second. Her whole body ached, but she didn't dare move around carelessly, fearing that she would accidentally tear her wounds and exacerbate the pain wrecking her body.

Riko grimaced as she glanced at the state of her body; she felt incredibly dirty with blood, grime, and sweat caking her body, but there was nothing she could do as she was currently imprisoned in one of the GoM's apparently infinite prison cells. The prison itself was small and suffocating, and there was nothing inside except for a cold, hard bed and a toilet that Riko felt far too embarrassed to use due to the lack of privacy.

Nevertheless, none of these issues could possibly compare to her fear of losing her child. Riko was still in a precarious stage of pregnancy, and if she wasn't careful, any mistake could easily rob her of her unborn baby. That was what she wanted to prevent at all costs. As such, during her beatings, the young mother tried to protect her abdomen as much as possible and prayed that they would both get out of there alive. However, because the so called discipline wasn't as severe as she knew the GoM were capable of, Riko surmised that perhaps the torture wasn't meant to push her to the brink of death, but rather to instill fear in her and teach her her place.

Though, Riko let out a wry smile, their tactics would never work. She was determined to never give in, and besides, the fact that the renown Generation of Miracles had resorted to such amateur tactics proved to Riko that the clan didn't deserve their fame or their accolades.

But that once again brought up the age old question: what did the GoM want with her and Seirin? To her knowledge, Seirin had never, not even once, crossed their path or invoked their wrath in any way, so just why were they being targeted? What could the GoM even gain from this?

This made absolutely no sense to Riko, and no matter how much she pondered this question, she was unable to arrive at one solid answer. Nevertheless, Riko pushed these confusing mysteries to the back of her mind to analyze further when she was back home-

When.

Riko stilled and sat up straight, pushing against the wall for support. Would that "when" ever come? What if that "when" was actually an "if"? Would she ever return home? To Hyuga, Kiyoshi, Izuki, Mitobe, Koganei... to Seirin?

Riko had no idea why she was thinking so negatively these days, but with Hyuga's absence, the infiltration, and now her own pitiful, kidnapped state... everything seemed dreadful and hopeless.

She shook her head, inhaling deeply. She needed to stop that train of thought this instant- it would do no good for both the mother and child. Suddenly, the heels of a pair of shoes clacked down the hall, the sound resounding throughout the prison, warning Riko of another person's presence.

She unconsciously held her breath and listened intently.

The sound only increased in volume, signaling that the owner was getting closer and closer. Riko hastily shut her eyes and tried to relax her body, feigning unconsciousness.

For several seconds, the owner stood possibly in front of her, observing her beaten form, and just when she thought that the person was about to walk away, her body involuntarily jerked forward as a bucket of water was mercilessly splashed onto her.

Riko couldn't prevent the pained yell that escaped her throat as her eyes squeezed shut, heart thumping rapidly. Not wanting to give the other person satisfaction, Riko bit her lip, trying to muffle the sound while a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

With her vision blurry, she opened her eyes wiped away the salty water on her face. Standing there before her was none other than Akashi Seijuro in all his glory. Riko automatically tried to rush forward, wanting to at least deliver a punch to Akashi's face and wipe that damn smirk off of his face.

Unfortunately, the chains pulled her back, digging into her already red, bruised wrists. Riko howled, wincing at the pain burning throughout her body.

And at that moment, pain unexpectedly bloomed across her cheek as a loud slap echoed throughout the cell.

Riko glared, feeling her entire body burning hotter and hotter.

Anger.

Resentment.

Hostility.

Vengeance.

Riko wanted to fight back with every fiber of her body.

"You can beat me, hurt me, maim me, but no matter what, Seirin will never surrender!" Holding her chin high, Riko soldiered on, masking the sharp pain and maintaining the expression of a fierce warrior.

Meanwhile, Akashi only sighed, shaking his head as if he was reluctant to do whatever he had planned.

As if.

"I hate disobedient dogs the most," he remarked.

Riko let the insult slide as she watched Akashi take out a cigarette from his pocket. Then, he flicked the lighter open and lit the cigarette up, watching as it turned more red and potent.

Afterwards, the redhead inched forward and took Riko by surprise when he twisted the burning end of the cigarette against her cheek. Riko immediately backed away, but when that turned out to be futile, she turned her head, not wanting Akashi to see her tears or how desperate she was to let out her screams.

"Do you want to know why I took you captive, Riko?" Akashi inquired casually, enjoying Riko's look of helplessness as he continued to torture her. "Well, you should feel honored as you will be our hostage to lure your clan's captain here."

The brunette spat on Akashi's face, fiery darkening her eyes. "Hyuga won't fall for your traps, you despicable, sadistic–"

She couldn't continue the succession of insults once Akashi had his hand wrapped around her neck with a vice grip. Riko struggled, clawing at Akashi's hand while gasping for air.

"Oh really?" A glint of anger flared in his heterochromatic eyes. "Well, if that allows you to sleep at night, then be my guest and keep deluding yourself that your Hyuga won't behave as I have predicted."

"...'e... won't," Riko choked, becoming more faint.

"Foolish girl, never underestimate my sources. Seeing as you're Hyuga Junpei's lover and the tactician of Seirin, you are essentially the glue that holds your clan together. With you abducted, rationality and reason will hardly be on his mind. As for your clan," he smirked, cocking his head, "well, that's the fun part, isn't it?"

Akashi finally released his grasp on Riko and she coughed roughly, massaging her throat as she hungrily took several deep breaths. Meanwhile, Akashi tossed away the cigarette and glanced down at his next toy: a pocket knife. Akashi dangled the weapon in front of the brunette as a teaser for what was to come, then tested the sharpness of the knife by moving the sharp edge down Riko's leg, drawing blood.

Riko gritted her teeth. "Akashi Seijuro, villains will always receive punishment for all their wrongdoings, so you'll never get away with this, you monster-!" The knife dug deeper into her flesh. "Inhumane beast! Savage! Satan's spawn-!"

A new splatter of blood soaked her shirt as blood gurgled from her own mouth. She looked down- she had been stabbed in the stomach by the pocket knife.

"Are you done?" Akashi asked, no, demanded coldly. He pulled the knife out and Riko collapsed, sinking onto the floor while clutching her stomach.

Blood. So much blood, filling the air with a nauseating stench.

Riko grabbed her shirt and formed it into a ball around her wound, hoping that this would stop the bleeding. She had to do something or else her child-

"No..." Riko gasped, trembling. Her pants felt wet and this time, the pool of blood was coming from her- pelvis. She looked down, shaking her head in denial. "God, please, no, my child! No!"

Akashi merely raised an eyebrow. Ah, so she was expecting? How unfortunate.

Because the child would never get to see daylight.

"Aida Riko, will you surrender now or will you continue to struggle fruitlessly?"

Neither option was appealing but Riko had no other choice. "I will, I will!" She wept. "Please... save my baby..."

"Now, why couldn't you just say so in the first place and save yourself from all this unnecessary pain?" Riko cried louder.

Akashi fished out his phone and dialed a number, "...Shintaro? Send a few nurses to Aida Riko's cell."

And with that, Akashi departed from the scene, leaving Riko behind in a broken, irreparable state for by the time the medical crew arrived, she had already lost what many deemed as mankind's most precious gift.

/

Kuroko turned to his side, still awake despite the fact that it was three in the morning. No matter what, he couldn't fall asleep, especially not after such a tragic event.

Today marked the fifth day since Riko was abducted, and none of them had heard a single word from Akashi or anyone from the Generation of Miracles for that matter. It was extremely worrying for everyone, especially Hyuga who had returned to the base two days earlier along with the other seniors.

When they had first caught wind of the news, Hyuga's initial reaction was to search for his lover, but was hastily dragged back by Kiyoshi. Nevertheless, his rage wasn't quelled. When he learned that Furihata had a part in this infiltration, albeit unintentionally, he blew up. Without thinking, Hyuga had smacked Furihata. Afterwards, Hyuga locked himself in his room and stubbornly refused to step a foot out the door no matter how much his family pleaded.

Suffice to say, tensions were high. This incident created divisions within the clan, and no one knew just how to proceed further.

And from there, everything changed drastically. First, eating time, which used to be a joyful, lighthearted event, was now a very tense and silent time. Even the children - who were forbidden to know what had transpired in the base - could tell that something was incredibly off. Second, everyone was constantly on guard, donning rigid faces as cracking jokes and sharing adventures became a thing of the past. Lastly, sleeping arrangements had shifted so that everyone had to sleep in a room with at least one or two skilled fighters for protection, including Kuroko, who was currently sharing a room with Furihata and Kiyoshi.

Kuroko sighed and sat up. Tonight would once again be a long, cold night.

"Can't fall asleep?" A voice pulled him away from his thoughts, and Kuroko looked up at the bunk bed to his left where Kiyoshi was currently peering down at him from the top bunk.

Kuroko shook his head, "No. And you?"

Kiyoshi shrugged, "I'm in the same boat. Are you..." Kiyoshi paused, "worrying about Akashi?"

"Eh?" Kuroko blinked.

"Oh, no, no." Kiyoshi waved his hands around, laughing sheepishly. "I phrased it awkwardly. I meant are you worried about the debt that your father owed to Akashi?"

"Yes, partially," Kuroko looked down. "On one hand, I'm not sure how to dissolve the tension stifling everyone in the family, and on the other hand, I also have to think about how to pay off the large debt... I just feel so lost right now."

Kiyoshi nodded. "I completely understand. But in times of strife, we need to stick together. Although everyone is split by the recent events, we can't let this hurdle become the boulder that blocks our path. Instead, rather than forcefully breaking that boulder, we should all try to navigate our way around it, one step at a time. For your debt, there are bound to be workarounds that we can think up together. For example, perhaps you could create a contract in which you pledge to pay off the debt within a certain time frame. And if that doesn't work out, we'll keep thinking and supporting you until we figure out a solution that works. The same will go for any other issue we face. So Kuroko, I wouldn't worry too much about it because I know for sure that Seirin will come out stronger after the worst has passed."

"Kiyoshi–san..."

Kiyoshi grinned, giving Kuroko a thumbs up. At that moment, Kiyoshi really resembled an older brother in Kuroko's eyes. Somehow, hearing those words made Kuroko feel light and reassured. Kiyoshi then looked down, "Those words were for you too, Furihata. Don't keep blaming yourself, alright?"

Furihata didn't respond, but Kiyoshi knew that he had heard the message; he could only hope that his words would get through Furihata.

"Alright, everyone, let's all try to sleep."

/

Koganei gulped down the can of cold beer in the lounge shortly after finishing his bath. Even though he'd usually greatly enjoy alcohol, it didn't help his mood much that night.

After sipping the remnants of his beer, Koganei crushed the can with his bare hand. At that moment, his best friend Mitobe stepped into his line of vision.

"If you don't feel comfortable, I can go by myself, Mitobe," Koganei told him.

Mitobe shook his head and wrote on a sheet of paper: "No, we're in this together."

Koganei let out a sigh and stood up. "Alright, let's go."

/

A knock tapped against the door and Kuroko looked up. "Please come in." Koganei and Mitobe walked in, both donning serious expressions as they sat down in front of Kuroko.

Koganei pursed his lips and clasped his hands together. Eventually, he let out a small, light smile and inquired, "How are you fitting in, Kuroko? Is everyone treating you alright?"

Kuroko nodded, giving him a confirmation, "Yes, everyone is very welcoming and generous."

"Great, great..." For a moment, Koganei appeared to be in deep thought, and then that rigid expression was back on his face.

Kuroko knitted his brow. "Um, Koganei–san, is there something that you would like to talk to me about?"

Mitobe then nudged his best friend, giving Koganei an encouraging nod. Koganei patted Mitobe's hand in return, smiling gratefully. He then cleared his throat, "Well, alright... Kuroko, let me cut to the chase: how are you planning to pay off the three million debt?"

The question was certainly sudden, but Kuroko supplied him with an answer nevertheless. "I was thinking that perhaps, per Kiyoshi–san's suggestion, I can draw a contract between me and Akashi–san, stating that I'll return the money within an agreed upon time frame."

With jaws tensed, Koganei immediately rejected the idea. "That probably won't do... Akashi definitely wouldn't agree. Do you really think he would be patient enough for you to get that money and give it to him over a span of time?"

"But you never know-"

Koganei held up a hand, "Kuroko, don't take this the wrong way, but if you believe that he'll be understanding, then you're incredibly naive, though I guess that's to be expected since you were only recently introduced to the mafia world. The more likely outcome here is that you'll have to be his slave or whatever else he has in his corrupt mind since there's just no way you can expect to quickly pay off that debt in a humane, moral way."

Kuroko shook his head. He was never one to think so negatively after all. "No, I'm sure there are other alternatives-"

Koganei interjected harshly, "I doubt it." He then took a deep breath, knowing that what he would say next would be incredibly hurtful, but he had no other choice. "Kuroko, let me be blunt. If you're expecting Seirin to help you shoulder that debt, then cease the thought immediately, because Seirin can't and won't."

Kuroko waved his hands around. "Koganei–san, I've never considered burdening Seirin with my own affairs!"

Koganei stood up, and began to pace around the room. "Seirin is a fairly new clan compared to others, and to top it off, we're also quite small without any alliances with other renown clans. As such, our clan isn't as stable as we wish it was. Nevertheless, throughout the years, the family had persevered and worked hard to accumulate a decent amount of money to finally construct this base, but that also means that we're in a tight spot financially. And for the remaining money, we can only use it for daily necessities."

Koganei then paused his footsteps and maintained eye contact with the bluenette. "As such, we really can't afford to help you out."

Kuroko bowed his head, "I completely understand, Koganei–san. Don't worry, you have my word that I, Kuroko Tetsuya, will not ask for a single penny from Seirin. This debt is mine and mine alone to shoulder, and no one else's. I will and have always been planning to find a way to repay it on my own."

Koganei huffed. "By doing what? Prostituting yourself?"

Mitobe widened his eyes at Koganei's remark and hastily pulled at his sleeve, warning him that he was beginning to step out of line. Koganei ignored him and pushed on, ignoring the guilt welling up inside of him. He was willing to be the villain if it meant that the future of Seirin would be secure and prosperous.

Kuroko took a step back, speechless.

"Unless you can suddenly pull three million out of thin air, there's practically nothing you can do but to submit to Akashi's whims and abide by his rules. And the fact that he's already pinned you as a target means that your very being is at risk... I hope you understand where I'm getting at, Kuroko."

Kuroko looked down, his bangs covering his eyes.

Koganei clenched his fists and continued, "I know my words are harsh, but Kuroko... you're just a stranger whom Seirin has no real relations with. We are in no way indebted or obligated to you. What we've done for you is the most we can afford to do for you, and anything beyond that is out of our hands."

Mitobe looked away, afraid that if he saw Kuroko's hurt expression, his resolve would waver. He, like Koganei, did notice what Kuroko had contributed to the clan, but... in the grand scheme of things, Mitobe would always choose his clan, even if that meant pushing Kuroko away.

Koganei stepped forward, grasping Kuroko's shoulders. "Kuroko, unlike others, the two of us haven't really interacted with you on a personal level, so suffice to say, we don't really have a bond that links us together. And that is why we, on behalf of the rest of the family, are telling you this in the hope that you'll sympathize."

Both Koganei and Mitobe bowed their heads. "Please, Kuroko, for Seirin's sake, leave the clan and don't drag Seirin into your mess."

After a period of silence, Kuroko finally answered.

"I understand. I will leave Seirin."

Koganei looked up, relieved, as he wrapped his arms around the lithe male and patted his back. "Thank you, thank you..." He whispered over and over again.

Meanwhile, Mitobe grabbed his notepad and wrote something hastily, showing the content to Kuroko afterwards: "I deeply apologize, Kuroko. I wish you luck and may God watch over you and protect you wherever you go."

Kuroko smiled at them and whispered, "Thank you, and take care."

He maintained that smile full of warmth, greeting the two seniors politely as they walked to the door and left. It was then that his face fell as Kuroko shut his eyes and laid on the bed for a long time.

/

Kuroko grabbed a bag from the drawer and packed the things that were rightfully his and not given to him by Seirin, though that wasn't much. Then, he glanced at the clock, which read 7:30. Kuroko still had ample time before either Furihata and Kiyoshi returned to their shared bedroom, which was typically at around nine.

Nevertheless, Kuroko locked the door just in case, and afterwards, he sat down with a sheet of loose-leaf paper from the drawer. Uncapping the pen, Kuroko began to write his letter explaining why he had to leave as well as apologizing for the inconveniences his presence had brought, all the while making sure to leave out any details regarding Koganei and Mitobe's confrontation prior to this letter.

And with a last stroke of the pen, Kuroko finished signing his letter and folded the loose–leaf into three parts. Kuroko planned to leave by midnight while everyone was asleep so that he could move freely. Of course, after the infiltration, many changes were made to the security system, and only a selected few knew how to navigate the base at night without setting the alarm off. As such, Kuroko needed to strictly follow Mitobe's instructions - written on a scrap of paper - on how to leave the base undetected (while the two seniors were tasked to distract the other members).

Kuroko took out Mitobe's note and glanced at it once more, trying to memorize the content. "First turn left, and walk down the corridor until you get to a fork path. Then, turn your body to the left and walk horizontally towards the right and forward five tiles. Afterwards, walk horizontally towards the left. Finally, walk forward five tiles and repeat these steps until–"

"What are you doing?"

Kuroko, startled, accidentally dropped the note and turned around, only to be greeted by Furihata with a towel wrapped around his head and a key chain encircling his finger. Furihata's eyes followed the movement of the paper as it drifted towards the floor and picked it up, dodging Kuroko's attempts to grab it back.

"Furihata–san!"

As Furihata skimmed through the note, his brow furrowed with suspicion. "What is this?" He demanded, shoving the note into Kuroko's face. No matter what angle he examined the note at, it was clearly a set of instructions on how to get out of the base.

"Why do you have this?" Furihata barked, inching closer. Since Kuroko was still considered as a rookie, the seniors wouldn't have allowed him to get a copy of these instructions nor would the seniors be so careless and leave this piece of information unattended.

And so, there was only one plausible explanation: thievery.

"Wait, Furihata–san, there's a misunderstanding! I–" Kuroko was cut off as Furihata grabbed him by the collar.

"Why are you stealing this?!" Furihata couldn't believe it. He had never expected Kuroko to be the one that backstab him, backstab Seirin. Though, he thought bitterly, he should have seen this coming. Just look at what Masato did to him.

"No, I didn't steal it! I asked Koganei–san and Mitobe–san to give this to me so I can leave Seirin without burdening-"

Furihata laughed mockingly. "Leave Seirin? Funny, when I asked you to leave few days ago, you declined. And now you want to leave? Couldn't you find a better lie to deceive me with?"

"Furihata-san." Kuroko grabbed the brunette's hand. "This is a misunderstanding. When you initially asked me, I was foolish, but now I realize just how negative an impact my stay in Seirin would be. And so, in order to make sure that Seirin would be safe, I–"

"Lies," Furihata hissed, yanking his arm out of Kuroko's hold. "Fine, let's say that I believed you. Why did you ask Koganei-san and Mitobe-san? As far as I know, you're not even close with them."

Kuroko was unable to respond, contemplating whether or not he should disclose their involvement in convincing him to leave. In the end, he decided not to. He only wanted to leave without creating unnecessary conflict in order to prevent troubling his family any further. But unfortunately, his goodwill was misinterpreted by Furihata.

"I knew it," Furihata declared triumphantly as he suddenly grabbed Kuroko's wrist in a vice grip and pulled him closer. "I'll reveal your disgusting character in front of everyone, you filthy traitor!"

With that one word, Kuroko's heart dropped. No matter what he said, Furihata would still perceive him as a traitor and deem whatever justifications Kuroko had as lies. Since it was futile, Kuroko opted not to try as Furihata dragged him out of the room.

"I shouldn't have trusted you, you lying, sneaky little rat," Furihata muttered under his breath with anger lacing every word. But in that moment, Kuroko saw his treasured necklace on the floor, which must have dropped in the scuffle earlier.

Kuroko stopped, resisting Furihata's pull. "Wait, Furihata–san, the necklace-"

Slap.

Kuroko's head snapped to the side, and the impact of the blow pushed him to the floor with ringing vibrations hammering his ears continuously. He stared at Furihata in disbelief.

"Enough." Furihata grounded his teeth together. "Rather than regretting your actions, you're still making excuses and trying to escape. Enough is enough!" His outburst tore through the air and Kuroko flinched.

Just then, a pair of footsteps resounded in the corridor, and Furihata turned to the sound, eyes brightening. "Kiyoshi–san! You came at just the right time! I caught a traitor in our midst!"

Kiyoshi appeared to not have heard Furihata as he practically sprinted past his junior. Furihata tried again, but Kiyoshi pushed him away. "Not right now, Furihata; Akashi just sent me an alarming message, and I need to show it to Hyuga right now. Whatever you need to share with me can wait."

And with that, Kiyoshi ran further and further away until not even his silhouette could be spotted.

Furihata turned to Kuroko and snapped, "I'll deal with you later." He then shoved Kuroko into the room and tied him to the bedpost with a spare rope for good measure.

Sending one last glare, Furihata slammed the door shut, leaving the bluenette all alone in the dark, lonely room.