Disclaimer: I don't own these great characters , they belong to Tadatoshi Fujimaki. The picture is not mine.
A/N: Hello, minna-san! I come back with a new story since one of my fics will be over soon. This is completely AU with fantasy parts everywhere. Since I love this kind of genre, I enjoyed writing this one. But I'll write some sex scenes and I considered this fics to be mature. There will be many characters shown here and many pairings too (I can't mention one by one because of the limitation). The main pairing will be AkaKuro although the main character here is Kagami (Is it weird? Ah, whatever~). Some of you maybe ask about HimuKaga and KiKuro, yeah they will appear later, maybe triangle love? I guess their relationship will be more complicated than a simple triangle love. If some of my readers dislike Kagami, please forgive my selfishness. I like Kagami so I like writing about him too. So, enjoy this new story. I love to read your review so much, because it makes me feel to improve my writing ability, so leave one okay? Then, here you go…
Chapter 1
Kagami opened his eyes in a dark room he didn't realize before. Since when was he there? He didn't remember. He walked in the darkness and tried to catch every single thing in front of him but nothing there. It was like a medium without any border. He continued to walk. His hand touched something. 'What is it?' He thought. It was like a door. His hands trailed to every corner and he found it, a knob of the door. He rotated that small thing and the door was opened. The very bright light hit his eyes, blinded him instantly. He opened his eyes little by little to see a broad sunflower field with beautiful deep blue lake under the precipice where he was in. He walked toward the tip of the precipice, to take a better look at the lake under his feet. The breeze instantly blew softly and challenging, caused his spine shivering a little. He recognized a nostalgic feeling about this place. He was here years ago playing with them, the old friends with rainbow appearances. They smiled together and they made a mess together. They run to all places while the red head and the azure head he knew well took their time together under a big sunflower and played hide-and-seek by themselves. The memories pictured in his mind so well, made his tears flew away so suddenly. He wiped it fast and looked at the bright red sky above him. The sun began to set in the west, leaving seven colors refraction on the top of the lake. It was so beautiful, so touching. Kagami smiled a little and nodded in his own. He walked back to the door after gazing at the field and saw a navy haired boy waved his hand at him and said "See you tomorrow!"
In a soft whisper, Kagami said, "Goodbye."
He walked on to the door and closed it. He sighed in relief.
"Unbelievable." He thought. He walked back to the darkness; let his feet lead him to an unknown area. Suddenly, he opened his eyes in surprise. A morning light hit him from a small wooden window near his small bed. He rubbed his eyes fast and climbed down the bed. A small boy, with azure eyes and hair suddenly entered his cabin without permission, made him jump in surprise while the boy greeted him.
"Good morning, Kagami-kun. Do you have a good rest?" He asked in his usual stoic face.
"Um, yah." Kagami answered shortly as he walked to his chair and sat there. He faced the boy with his full attention and hoped that the boy didn't disappear suddenly later, in the near future, and send another heart attack to him.
"Captain asked me to wake you up." The boy continued.
Kagami grinned a little. He reached the boy's hair and patted it softly. The boy looked so pleasant treated like that. It seemed like he was expecting to get a pat from the older.
"Hey Kuroko, you don't have to wake me up every morning. I can do it by myself." He replied as his hand trailed down to the boy's pale cheeks.
"But Kagami-kun always wakes up late. You make trouble to the others." He said bluntly.
"Is that so? But I'm very helpful you know. In this ship, I'm the strongest." He grinned even wider, but the younger stayed in his expressionless face.
"No, we can be successful so far because of me. I'm the true phantom thief." The boy began to shout, because he never ever wanted to lose from the older teen that he thought as his elder brother since he was very small.
"It's because of your misdirection. You are helpful for that."
"Let's end this. Captain asks us to get our breakfast soon. Tonight, we'll be in Teikou Kingdom as we planned." Kuroko added.
Kagami was silent. He changed the direction of his eyes to outside, to the wide blue sea under the ship. It was normal for him to see the sea, but every time he felt so doubtful about anything, he would look at the sea and sense how deep it was. He was doubt about his plan. He never wanted to get back there. It was the first time since nine years ago he set his foot there. It would be so nostalgic, but he headed there not to have a reunion with anyone. He went there to take his important item he left nine years ago. It was saved by the seventh emperor, Akashi Seijuuro, the successor of Aka Clan. It couldn't be helped that he had to steal it from the emperor, although maybe it would cost his life later. The only one he couldn't deceive with his magic was the emperor. Once he saw him, he would remember him instantly and it would be really dangerous. He needed to plan everything perfectly since there was the Generation of Miracles too, the strongest knights ever. Although he was very strong, he, by himself, could not take them down, especially that man, Aomine Daiki, his former rival in sword fighting. He should avoid any fights, steal that stone, and run away with his current friends.
Kagami returned to the younger teen but he lost him. He's always like that, popped from nowhere and went to nowhere. His presence really similar to a ghost and that's why he called a phantom.
"Kuroko? Don't give me another heart attack. I warn you!" He pointed on the blank air if just Kuroko was there, but the boy was vanished. He wasn't there.
"Okay. I almost cannot feel his presence since he mastered that thing. Kagami, calm down and do your daily activity as usual. Don't think too hard, it's not you." He talked to himself, to calm himself. He walked to the door and moved to the kitchen where his teammates waiting for him in front of piles of bacons and breads. Aida Riko, the cook (a terrible one), prepared a bottle of uneatable strawberry jam that even Kagami didn't think she cut the strawberry properly.
"Hey Riko, could you make a proper jam? I can't eat it." The captain, Hyuuga Junpei protested loudly after seeing how bad that jam. Riko smiled evilly behind the kitchen set and pointed out a butcher knife to him. It made him shivered instantly.
"Hyuuga-kun, could you just stop to protest about anything and eat that delicious strawberry jam right now?" She treated him like 'eat those as soon as possible of I'll kill you with this (the butcher knife)'. She still smiled evilly and as long as the captain saw that evil cook, he would never rest in a peace. He had to eat that strawberry jam or everything would be worse.
After seeing how bad that strawberry jam, Kagami walked toward the kitchen and took a knife. He searched for strawberry in the food storage and cut it professionally. Riko looked amazed by how he cut the strawberry until the pieces were very small and more looked like a jam's content. Next, he fire up the stove and add other ingredients into a pan including the strawberry. After that, he heated the pan on the stove and stirred it professionally.
"Kagami-kun, you make another jam?" Riko asked.
"Because I don't like your jam, senpai." Kagami answered honestly without even looking at Riko and still stirred his jam happily. Riko felt so disgraced with his ignorance. She looked so mad (her satanic aura made the others cried while trembling in their own seats). Okay she was pretty bad in cooking, although she was the cook here, but it's not the reason for this read brat to mock his jam.
"What do you say?" Riko said with pressured voice. She tried so hard not to get mad to her acquaintances, but if he was disgracing her, it was different condition.
Kagami looked at Riko and he was surprised. He already woke a lion from her long slumber. She would eat a little tiger like him in just 3 or 5 swallow for sure.
"Ano…"
"What?" Riko smiled evilly while she used her butcher knife to cut a celery (in the air), in front of him, like she intended to cut Kagami's neck like she cut the celery.
"I'm sorry and―RUN!" Kagami overstepped Riko quickly as Riko run to catch his prey, no longer Hyuuga but Kagami. They played those police and thief game occasionally, whenever Riko felt that Kagami mocked her cooking. Half an hour later, Kagami was no longer in Riko's killing area (everyone named it, perfectly). He was in the deck alone. He enjoyed the breeze while his eyes looked at the sea which reflects the sky brightly. He suddenly thought about what would happen if he didn't return alive in this mission. He knew that he should act professionally as a thief, that's returning alive from any mission, including this mission. He would not let any past memories distracted him and dragged his friends and Kuroko who knew nothing to the danger. He had to clear his mind and enjoy this evening mission, as usual.
"What makes you show me that complicated face, Kagami-kun?"
Kagami jumped in shock. Once more, he got a sudden heart attack from his best friend, Kuroko Tetsuya. Okay, please no more for the rest of this day or Kagami should be sent to the hospital because of several heart attacks.
"Kuroko, stop messing with me!" He yelled.
"I'm not messing with you, Kagami-kun. It's not my mistake if you don't recognize me."
"Damn. I hate your misdirection!"
"But because of this misdirection, we never caught by the police so far."
"Arrrghhh" Kagami messed his red hair because he would never be able to win in an argument with this little bluenette. "Okay, Kuroko. Please stop it! Let's stop this." Kuroko nodded.
"So, you are a little bit odd lately after saying that you want to take that ruby. Is there anything you don't like or agree from this mission?" He continued to ask. I switched my gaze from him to the sea and shook my head.
"Don't worry. I just a little bit tired. But I'll be back 100% tonight, so don't worry." Kagami tried to smile, to hide all of his uneasiness, but he forgot that Kuroko was one of the most sensitive people he ever met. He could sense anything wrong especially related to him.
"No, you're thinking deeply about something lately. Please tell me. We've agreed to share anything, aren't we?" He insisted. Kagami sighed. He gave his full attention to the younger teen.
"Kuroko, I'll tell you everything someday, but not now. Please…" Kagami asked.
"But…"
"I promise. I'll tell you everything you want to know, but not now."
It took a while to make Kuroko nodded in agreement. Kagami patted his soft hair and returned to the sea which blew the breeze to their hair. It would be the scenery he missed then, he got that feeling from somewhere he didn't know.
Teikou Kingdom was one of the biggest kingdoms ever. It has a huge port where every trade happens. Over the seasore, a bird, a black eagle was flying carrying something. It didn't stop there, because the eagle moved further, to the center of the kingdom, the headquarter of everything, the Miracles Palace where the emperor and his knights lived.
The bird stopped in a tower where the emperor and one of his knight were enjoying their afternoon tea. Seeing that bird, the green-haired knight stood up and walked toward the bird. He took a scroll carrying by the bird. After the scroll was taken, the eagle flew away as fast as possible to somewhere the green-haired teen didn't know. He opened the scroll and read the content of the scroll. He looked a little bit surprised but he nodded in silence.
"Your Highness, you get a message." He said. He handed over the scroll to the red-haired emperor who was very young to be called as an emperor. He was handsome, but he was short. He was still 17 years old when he got the throne.
The emperor took the scroll and read it silently. He somehow grinned.
"Your highness?" The green-haired teen asked a respond.
"Gather the others, except for Daiki. I'm going to have an interesting game." He said while he was smiling so wide.
"But Phantom Thieves…"
"Just do my order, Shintarou!"
"I understand, Your Highness!" The green-haired teen called Shintarou bowed deeply enough and walked to the exit.
After Shintarou was completely disappearing from his sight, the emperor looked at the vast sky above him. It's surely beautiful. Then, he smiled softly and thought about something, about someone in his mind.
"Since when you run away from me, Kuroko Tetsuya?" He stopped for a while and continued. "I'll find you for sure. Then, I'll never let you go again."
The day still continued even when the emperor's mind stopped in one figure, a small boy with a expressionless face and light presence. He was so cute and he was born just few months after him. The boy was his fate as he remembered how his mother said about that baby blue haired boy years ago. It's been years and Kuroko Tetsuya was lost from this kingdom together with another prince of the Kuro Clan, the legitimate miracle knight that should standing beside him now. 'Just where are they?' He thought. No one remembered about them being born in this country, no one acknowledged them as the princes of this country, and no one knew their name. There's only him who got the past memories as clear as a glass and who still waited them to get back home. No one more, it seemed…
When the sun was set in the west, the sky looked so red. The emperor sighed and left the tower to start his hunting game. He grinned a little and convinced to himself that this hunting game will be interesting as interesting as his regular shogi game with Shintarou. No one knew about that ruby except for someone he knew well. If his intuition was right, and he was always right, he would reunite with that princes soon after.
"We'll land to the Teikou Port in one minute. Be ready all!" The navigator, Izuki, yelled from the deck. Everyone including the captain, Kagami, and Kuroko run to the deck as soon as possible with their full preparation like sword, rope, and other tools. They also brought a mask except for Kuroko who didn't need any mask because of his misdirection.
"Guys, let's enjoy this party!" Kiyoshi Teppei shouted with his raised hand. His spirit made the others delighted.
"Yooosssh!"
Kagami looked the port he left years ago. It had been renovated and built better, but still he missed some fragments from that place. Soon, he would be there, no he would be at the palace too. Even for the slightest, he hoped that he would never meet the emperor, because his magic didn't have any effect to him. And since he dragged Kuroko Tetsuya, he should give his best tonight, not to carelessly hand over his brother to that man. He wished his success tonight… [ ]
Spoiler for chapter 2:
'It's not here.' Kagami screamed in his mind. It's the worst scenario he had to handle. For the sake of his friend, for the sake of his brother, and for the sake of himself, he would never give up till the end…