"You okay there, boy?"
Kuroo shot up at the sound, eyes heavy with sleep and body ached like a freight car had just him. His breaths were coming short, but every time he tried to take a deep breath, his ribs hurt like hell, must be the cause the block of wood owned by an angry shop owner he tried to steal from that hit him straight to the chest earlier.
He tried to get up, hand on the wall to support his body as his shaky legs received all the weight. He need to go, had to go somewhere because who know what would the voice did to him.
"Hey? You okay? I'm not going to hurt you." The voice, belonged to an old man apparently, went closer, hands up, "It's okay, no need to be scared."
Kuroo tried to focus on the man, tried to ball his fists together but before he could even bring them up, the world turned dark.
* * * * *
When he woke up, he wasn't on the dark alley anymore. Instead, he was on a dim room, laying on a soft mattress that he hadn't feel since so long ago. His body didn't hurt anymore. The wound he thought he has on his chest was covered with white bandages, and even without properly looking at them, he knew there were herbs all around his body to help heal the cuts and bruises he got.
"Oh, good, you're awake."
Turning his head to the side, Kuroo immediately sat up, an action he soon regret when the pain shot up again. Slowly, he relaxed his body enough to sit before looking at the person in front of him. "Who are you?"
"Nekomata." The man said, "and you?"
"Tetsu." He answered, "I'm Tetsu."
"Tetsu, huh?" The man—Nekomata—stood up. He reached for a tea pot and cups located beside the mattress, something Kuroo had failed to realize when he was too busy watching the man. Realized he was being watched, Nekomata laughed. "No need to be that cautious, kid. I'm just making you some tea."
Despite the warning, Kuroo found himself staring at the man.
The man was probably at his 60s, 70s if looks could lie. The man moved like a feline, all grace and gentle but when Kuroo took a closer look at the way he smiled, Kuroo shifted, making a little bit more gap between them.
This wasn't him, wasn't the 'old' him. The 'old' him would smirk and threw his arm around the man shoulders, laughing and talking like old friends. But that version of him was gone the moment the Emperor attacked his village and took his best friend.
The 'now' him was cautious, thinking first then acting instead of acting then thinking like he used to do before. The 'now' him was silent, moving under people's nose to get into the Government and got his best friend back.
"You could relax, kid." Nekomata said, offering him the tea he had been preparing, when Kuroo looked up from his reflection on the tea, he found himself amused by the way Nekomata's smile changed, into something more... proud, amused, as if he was challenging him. "No one going to hurt you. In fact," the man threw a look over his shoulder, the door that led to this room was still opened and for the first time, Kuroo realized there were people standing there. How they got there without being noticed, he didn't know. "We're here to help."
When Kuroo didn't answer, Nekomata waved his hand and then without saying anything the people in front of the door piled in, each having moving in the same way as Nekomata, all grace and gentle. But on second of looking them in the eye, Kuroo shivered. His lips turned into a smirk.
"Their villages were attacked. Emperor walking around ordering his men to get the prettiest girl on the village to be a candidate to be his wife. Each of them lost their homes because of that." Nekomata smiled when Kuroo finally drank the tea, eyes not leaving them. "If it's a revenge you want, we can help you give it."
Kuroo snorted, "You? With that body and age, you wouldn't even be able to get to the third floors before someone haul you into their back."
At the jab, Kuroo found himself amused when no one took it offensive. One of the people at the back, the shortest one with brown hair, crossed his hands, chest puffed.
Nekomata laughed, hand slapping his knee, "Well, you're not wrong. I can't get to the third floors by stairs. But forget them, I can teach you how to get to the third floor without the stairs."
"What? You going to teach me how be a ninja?"
"Something like that."
"Wait, are you serious?"
Kuroo examined each of their faces, each having a smirk of their own. Even a shy boy at the back, hair looked absolutely ridiculous with black at the top and yellow at the bottom, looked up to meet his eyes, holding secrets Kuroo wouldn't be able to get past in a night.
He felt laughter bubbled inside. He ran his hand through his hair, eyes wide when no one break the atmosphere. "Seriously?"
Nekomata nodded, "If that's what you want. I don't know how you survive for so long, but you can't keep running forever like how I found you, sometimes you gotta stop and fight. And if you stay and let me train you, let me help you get the revenge you want and get whoever the Emperor took from you, I'll make sure you can run faster and punch harder by the time you leave this place."
"What's the cost?"
This time, it was the short guy with brown hair that answered. "Not much," he said, grinning, "just make sure you don't miss your other chores other than train. The dishes aren't going to wash themselves."
"I want to get my best friend back," Kuroo said, eyes serious, "you can help me with that?"
"As long as you stay and let us help you." Nekomata gestured to the people behind him. "So? You staying, Tetsu?"
"Kuroo."
"What?"
When Kuroo looked at Nekomata again, he wasn't looking at him as his newer, colder self. For once after he long time, he let himself relax, let a glimpse of a person he used to be came out. "My name is Kuroo Tetsurou. Call me Kuroo."
The short guy smiled, "Yaku Morisuke."
Kuroo smirked, "Nice to meet you, Yakkun."
"What—who gave you permission to—"
"Now, now, stop it," Nekomata raised his hand before the banter he knew would be coming started. Looking at Kuroo in the eye, Kuroo found himself smirked even more, because while Nekomata was still all grace and gentle, he couldn't bother to remember why he had been so cautious at him. Looking at this people in front of him, Kuroo found himself trusting people again after so long.
"Welcome to the Nekoma Clan, Kuroo."