A/N: Written for AkaKuroValentine2016. This is crossposted from my tumblr. The other parts are in there too but I'm gonna post the other parts here some other time because this is what I can post now (I need to sleep lol But I really wanna post this now). This fic is gonna get cringeworthy very soon lol I'm not even gonna deny. It has been a while since I've written anything so pardon the quality orz
Settings: Lucky Number 13 AU (read the manga if you haven't. It's hilarious. But of course it's not necessary but might help with better understanding of the whole story). University setting (I don't know how Tokyo Daigaku works so pardon me for my ignorance). Kiseki no Sedai never knew Kuroko until this fic happened. Let's pretend they're all geniuses so they got into the same uni.
Summary: Have you heard of 'The Deadly Phantom Lover'? It was a rumor about this one boy who brought a series of misfortunes to anyone who went out with him. Several people had lived to tell the tale yet no one can prove he exists. But when one does see him, they were enchanted by his beauty and was woven around his finger, cursed with chains of calamities until they broke it off with him.
And now, Akashi Seijuurou was to test the reality of the rumor.
WARNING: OOC-ness, poor uncool Akashi, fast romance, poor interpretation of Akashi's DID or Multiple Personality Disorder or something like that. Lame humor ahead - humor isn't my best genre to write orz
...
Akashi Seijuurou has his life going great. He's rich, handsome, top in his school, captain of his middle and high school basketball team, a student council president in his first year, the heir of his father's company, yadayada – you catch the drift. The perfect guy who's never seemed to have any misfortune in his life - except for his jerk of a dad but he's going to inherit the company and kick his father's ass. But of course, Akashi Seijuurou, the crème brulee of the creams of the world is mature enough not to throw a tantrum for his father's treatment towards him – see? Perfect.
However, for every up, there's down. And though Akashi has always been up there, enjoying grapes on his throne, a certain decision to attend the local Tokyo University instead of overseas as suggested, flipped his world completely.
Flipped his good luck completely….
…..
"Everyone, let's go to the new café that had just opened in front of the station! I heard their lemon cheesecake is the best."
"Hah? Too troublesome. But if you're paying then I'm going."
"If it's Kise-chin's treat, then I'm going~"
"Wha-What's with that?!"
"Don't be stingy Kise. You invited us so pay for us."
"Eh?! Both of you are so mean!"
"Quiet down all of you. Stop acting like kids nanodayo."
The blond pouted in displeasure, prompting a smug smirk from his dark-skinned friend. They would have started their pointless bickering again if it wasn't for an interesting declaration in the distance that had caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity.
"Sorry but please, break up with me!"
In the centre of the university lawn where students were scattered around, were two guys in which one of them was kneeling on all four with his bandaged head kissing the concrete ground and the other standing still, watching the scene before him with mild confusion. Whispers broke out amongst the crowd of students as the scene unfolded before them.
"Woah, what happened?" Kise, being the busybody he is, scooted closer to the scene, dragging Aomine as well, joining the other students that watched the scene with interests.
The standing male who was part of the centre of attention stared blankly at his 'boyfriend' – now 'ex' - without as much as a flinch and simply took a shallow breath before opening his mouth.
"But…you were the one who asked me out."
The kneeling man snapped his head up, his face contorted in distress and pupils dilated in panic.
"Th-That's why I'm saying sorry! There's no way I can take this anymore!"
He gestured to his bandaged head, casted fingers and some cuts and bruises on his face.
"It has only been three days but I'm already this beaten up! Going out with you any longer will get me killed!"
The surrounding students were in awe. Three days? And the man was already a metre away from the cliff of a life-threatening injury.
The light blue-haired male stayed quiet, a blank expression on his face with his head hung low slightly but not in disappointment, rather in understanding. He nodded and the kneeling man beamed in relief.
"I understand. Sorry. Have a good day then."
With that being said in his soft, quiet voice, he turned around and walked away, looking forward on as if he wasn't just dumped a minute ago.
Not even a few steps away, he suddenly slipped on a banana skin and tripped face-first onto the concrete ground, ripping out surprised gasps from neighbouring students.
He barely let it bothered him though, attempting to get back on his feet even when blood was running down his nose.
"Are you okay?"
"Akashicchi!"
Akashicchi?
The blue-haired male lifted his head up slowly, cupping his bleeding nose. His round eyes widened subtly at the outstretched hand holding a light red handkerchief and a handsome, gentle smile directed towards him, accompanied by soft yet sharp red eyes.
Akashi Seijuurou.
"Thank you…"
He accepted the handkerchief gratefully, immediately covering his nose with the fabric. He was surprised even more when Akashi had his hands on both his shoulders to help him stand up and patted dust off of his outfit.
They weren't kidding when they said Akashi Seijuurou is like a prince.
"Much better now?"
"Um, yes. I have to go. Thank you…"
Before he could attract more attention for interacting with the well-known gentleman, the male dismissed himself quickly despite the pain striking his knees for every step he took. Akashi had wanted to stop the male from hurting himself further but the male walked away before he could and disappeared around the corner quickly.
A few minutes passed and the other students went about their usual schedule, occasionally whispering about the scene they had just witnessed. Akashi was still standing there, looking at the direction where the blue-haired boy had disappeared.
"Akashi."
Midorima's voice broke him out of his trance.
"Woah, Akashicchi! That's so cool of you!"
Akashi turned to look at his friends and managed a small smile.
"You're making a big deal out of everything Kise."
"But man, you're so brave Akashicchi. Don't you know who that is?"
Akashi raised a brow. "Am I supposed to?"
"Wah, really? How about you all? Do you guys know about 'The Deadly Phantom Lover'?"
"I'm not interested in musical show Kise."
"It's not a musical show Aominecchi! It's that guy you saw just now!"
"I don't see how that name suits him nanodayo," Midorima commented sceptically, scrunching his eyebrows. Murasakibara shrugged and continued eating his maiubo without much interest.
"Mou, all of you are so outdated! Let me tell you then!"
Kise cleared his throat and smiled smugly at the attention his friends were giving to him as they waited.
"He is Kuroko Tetsuya. There was a rumor that said that anyone who dated that guy will fall into a series of accidents in the time they spent with him. Once, I heard his 'ex-boyfriend' was in ICU because a horse - somehow, for some reasons – escaped from its owner and accidentally knocked his ex out instead. And people said 'he' was there. And that's why, he was said to be 'deadly'…."
Deafening silence ensued among the quintet, the atmosphere draped over them heavily until Midorima coughed.
"Nonsense. Why was he called the Phantom too then?"
"That's the interesting part, Midorimacchi. You know, even if several people had claimed to have gone out with him before and experienced the 'curses', none of them actually saw him around the campus that much. Simply put, he might as well be 'non-existent' in our campus. But when someone DID see him, they were…well, let's just say, 'enchanted' by his beautiful face. They fell for him at first sight and asked him out. And then, the series of misfortunes started to befall upon them until they couldn't take it anymore and broke it off with him. It barely lasted for a week – 3 days at most. Then the next victim came along….and the cycle repeats…"
Kise heaved a breath and beamed suddenly.
"Well, that's what the girls told me anyway! I didn't think it was true until that happened just now. So I guess the rumors are true afterall. So what do you guys think?"
"You just wasted a good amount of my time."
"Eh, Midorimacchi?! You were listening so intently just now though."
"That's stupid, Kise. What kind of person does that anyway? You and your girls should really stop making up stories about people."
"I'm not making up stories Aominecchi! They actually happened you know!"
"Kise-chin~When are we going to the café?"
"You're not even listening Murasakicchi!"
"Interesting…"
All heads (except Murasakibara who continued munching on his snacks) snapped towards the redhead in shock.
"Eh?!"
"A-Akashicchi, you found this interesting?!"
Akashi smiled, arching an amused brow at his blond friend. "Seems like it."
"…..What do you have in mind, Akashi?"
"Now now Midorima, I'm not thinking anything outrageous here. I just found the story to be interesting is all," Akashi assured with a small smile and turned on his heels.
"Come on, I'll treat you guys to that café you were talking about."
"Wah, you're treating us Akashicchi?! That's so nice of you!"
"What's gotten into you Akashi?! Is it gonna rain blood soon?!"
"Aomine."
Aomine shut up instantly before the redhead could take out his beloved scissors.
"You're surprisingly in a good mood Akashi…"
Akashi threw a calm smile to his bespectacled friend, dismissing the statement and made his way to the entrance gate with the others tailing behind him noisily with their usual bickering routine.
Midorima lagged behind for a while, looking at Akashi's confident back in contemplation.
Something was definitely up with the redhead.
…..
"Good night, Akashi."
"Good night, Midorima."
They both stepped into their neighbouring dorm rooms and settled into the comfort of their rooms.
Akashi sighed and stretched his arms up to relieve the pops of tension in his shoulders. Today had been a long day for him, what with the full 3 hours lectures in the morning and a group proposal presentation in the afternoon for their lecturer and her colleagues from different sections of the business department. So the calming silence of his small room was an oasis, even if his room was far smaller than it was back in his mansion. But Akashi didn't mind, for the room was more homely than his original one. His father may not agree to him living in such a small, dirty room but Akashi knew how to take care of himself, keeping his room neat because that's just how he is.
The high tea with his fellow friends was especially refreshing though despite his exhaustion. Alongside with going to the arcade centre and window shopping along the streets of Tokyo before finishing the outing with a dinner. It was a nice stress reliever.
It did drain his energy though. Days spent in trying to finish up his proposal presentation with his dependent group mates had taken a toll on his body, even when he knew how well he takes care of his well-being anyway. It wasn't like they were completely useless but he definitely had to manage everything because nobody knew what to do. Thankfully, everything went well and he could take a basketball break with his friends once in a while.
After taking off his clothes and replacing them with a more comfortable grey pyjamas, he looked to his watch to see the time.
8.30pm.
It was still too early for a sleep, Akashi concluded. He sat down and leaned back on his still folded futon, not bothering to lay it out as he didn't plan to sleep just yet, although sleep was already hanging on his eyelids. But he decided to give himself some time to spare to plan out what he was going to do after 15 minutes.
Review his lectures, make some notes perhaps; prepare for his lectures tomorrow; try out some exam questions; review the paperwork for the upcoming basketball tournament…
And then maybe try to find a certain blue-haired boy around the campus tomorrow to see if he exists; Kuroko Tetsuya, was it? Ah, such a fitting name for an equally adorable person. Has blue ever been that attractive to him? Aomine made it seem otherwise. What makes this blue different then? Well, comparing the barbarian Aomine to such a quiet and small person was out of the question indeed.
He closed his eyes, on the brink of dozing off as he pictured the face he had managed to catch a glimpse at before Kuroko had lowered his head to tend to his nose. The blood that had run down his nose had not bothered him at all for his other features had captured his attention.
'Enchanted by his beautiful face…'
Was that what Kise had said earlier? Enchanted? Akashi couldn't deny that beautiful was an understatement but at the same time, the boy he met earlier also has a plain aura. Yet he managed to invade the mind of an emperor with just a glance.
'Series of misfortunes started to befall upon them…'
Was it because 'beauty comes at a price' that the curses of misfortune befalls upon him?
'Non-existent…'
Akashi was undeniably intrigued.
…Intrigued by 'The Deadly Phantom Lover'.
…..
CRASH!
Akashi woke with a start. His heart picked up pace, eyes darting all over his room while his ears strained to detect the direction of the sound. More snapping and rustling sounds were heard…..and it came from his tiny balcony.
Akashi narrowed his eyes and approached his balcony cautiously. Through the white curtains, there was a faint silhouette of something that seemed to grow out of the branches of the tree outside his balcony. He pulled back the curtain and was shocked by the sight before him.
A person was hanging off of one of the branches on his belly, several leaves fell over him and some stuck in his unkempt blue hair. There were several mild cuts on his body, exposed by the tear in his clothes.
Akashi took in the whole unusual image, blinking in shock until the person groaned and lifted his head, his blue eyes locked with Akashi's red ones.
"A-Ano….Could you help me please?"
Blink once. Blink twice.
"Oh, yes. Sorry, just a moment," Akashi cleared his throat, shaking his head to bring him back to reality before approaching the poor guy stuck on the tree. Thankfully, the tree's branch was long enough to reach a good portion of his balcony for him to reach the person (he has no shame to admit that he is too short to help if the branches were even half a metre away).
"Careful, don't move. You'll snap the branch off."
He stretched his arms out and managed to reach close enough for the poor guy to stretch out his arms as well to hook them around Akashi's shoulders.
"Have you grabbed onto me?"
"Yes."
"Okay, I'm going to pull now. Careful." It was harder than he expected to pull the person from the tree because the smaller branches were stuck to his clothes but with more strength added, he managed to pull the person off the tree and onto his body, holding him close as if protectively. They both sighed in relief as Akashi finally released his hold on the person, helping the person to finally land safely on his feet (albeit simply closing the few centimetres gap between his feet and the floor).
"Are you okay?" Akashi asked, plucking some of the leaves away from the unkempt hair and clothes. He looked over the person to check for any severe injuries - aside from the band-aid on his nose probably from yesterday's tripping accident - but the person simply nodded and fixed his clothes around himself.
"Yes, thank you so much. I was afraid that you wouldn't see me on the tree."
"Wouldn't see you..?"
Oh…Oh.
'The Deadly Phantom Lover'.
"Well, I have great 20/20 vision," Akashi joked mildly before expressing his confusion on the matter. "How did you end up there anyway?"
"Oh, that. When I was on the balcony, the morning sun felt so refreshing so I stretched my arms up and fell from the fifth floor."
"…Hah?"
Kuroko stared at his saviour without as much as a blink after the deadpan explanation while Akashi couldn't help but blinked several times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He inched towards his balcony rail and looked up towards the many floors. He is on the first floor for God's sake.
And how does one fall from just a 'stretch'?!
"Sorry, I'm hopelessly clumsy. It's been a while since something this serious happened though."
He made it sound like it's a daily thing to have!
Akashi decided to force a smile to not show his bewilderment in the whole matter. He has never encountered such clumsiness before. Like is that even possible?
"I see. Glad to know you're safe anyway." I wouldn't know what to do if you had fallen to your death instead of on the tree. "Ah, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself."
"Kuroko Tetsuya right? I saw you yesterday." Akashi cut in with a smile. Kuroko widened his eyes slightly and looked down, perhaps in embarrassment of the first impression he had shown to his saviour.
Saviour. Now that Kuroko thought about it deeper, wasn't Akashi the one who had helped him yesterday too?
"Sorry you had to see that….Akashi-kun, right?"
Akashi smiled. "You know me too?"
"Everyone knows you. It's more surprising that you know a nobody like me."
"Though I guess it shouldn't be surprising because of yesterday and the stories about me," Kuroko continued softly under his breath.
"Sorry about that. People like gossips."
Silence draped over them, both unsure on what to do next. It was Kuroko who broke the silence when he felt that he probably had bothered Akashi too much.
"I should get ready for my class now, Akashi-kun…"
Kuroko finally lifted his head up and looked Akashi straight in the eyes, a sincere small smile finally adorning his pink lips. And it made Akashi's heart skipped a beat unconsciously.
"Thank you for helping me Akashi-kun. And for yesterday too."
Akashi cleared his throat, trying to keep his calm before returning Kuroko's smile. "My pleasure, Kuroko."
He escorted Kuroko to his door, opening it and exchanged one last wave of goodbye before closing it. And once he did, he let out the breath he was holding the entire time.
Kuroko Tetsuya.
They weren't lying when they said he is beautiful.
Because even Akashi, the Emperor had been enchanted by the Phantom.
…..
Morning had passed on uneventfully and lunch came around. Akashi was walking with his usual group of colourful-haired friends when he heard someone called his name.
"Akashi-kun."
He turned to his side but there was no one there.
"What's wrong Akashicchi?"
"I just thought I heard someone called my name…"
"I'm here."
"UWAAHH!"
Kise and Aomine jumped a few feet away after releasing their 'manly' screams, Midorima went still as a statue, his glasses cracked at the edges and Murasakibara dropped his beloved snack. Akashi widened his eyes and blinked several times, materialising the Phantom standing in front of him in his vision before he heaved a sigh of amusement and smiled.
"Hello, Kuroko. That was unexpected."
"Since when are you there?!"
Kuroko spared a glance at the dark-skinned male, bowed in apology and turned back towards Akashi. He managed a small smile that would go unnoticed if Akashi didn't have his so called '20/20' vision.
"I wanted to give this back to you. Thank you for your help."
In his hand was the red handkerchief Akashi had lent to him yesterday, folded neatly and washed. Akashi raised an amused brow.
"You can keep it you know. I don't mind."
"Don't worry, I've washed it."
Akashi chuckled. "That's not what I mean."
"But….you've saved me this morning too…The least I can do is give you your handkerchief in its usual state."
Midorima bent slightly to whisper in Akashi's ear, keeping a suspicious stare on the shadow but Kuroko was unfazed, keeping a straight face although aware of the looks the 'rainbows' were giving him.
"You were with him this morning too, Akashi?"
Akashi glanced at Midorima, smiling knowingly and focused fully on Kuroko again.
"You're too kind, Kuroko. You don't have to pay me back or anything. Rather-"
He held Kuroko's outstretched hand in both of his own gently and mustered a charming, calm smile that would have blinded anyone though it did not show any effect on the confused Kuroko.
"May I have the honour of going out with you?"
Time stood still. Silence reigned over the campus ground before sonic chaos was unleashed.
"EHHHH?! AKASHICCHI, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"
"Do you have a death wish, Akashi?!"
"What is the meaning of this nanodayo?!"
"Akachinnnn…"
"No way, did the prince just ask the Deadly Phantom out?!"
"Nooooo, Akashi-kun! Why are all the hot guys gay?!"
"OHHH, I SHIP THEM ALREADY!"
Kuroko blinked once, blinked twice but the expectant smiling face of Akashi Seijuurou was still there, solid and real in front of him. The noises of protests (or approvals for some…) went through deaf ears for he could only repeat Akashi's confession in his mind. He looked down to his feet for a moment, feeling the tingles of embarrassment tickling his faint rosy cheek before meeting Akashi's red eyes firmly. He could detect no mischief in the red orbs and even Kuroko – who had never interacted with Akashi before this – knew that the redhead wasn't the type to play with someone's feelings.
"T-Then please take care of me…Akashi-kun."
More noises of protests and amazement resonated around them but all those were blocked by the small bubble of joy the new couple were in.
"Y-"
Akashi felt a sudden heaviness weighing down his shoulders and chills running down his spine.
"Yes…Kuroko."