Waiting

by ShioriErz

Waiting. That was a thing that he had infinite patience for. Being who he was, waiting was a life lesson that he learned very early on. He was used to waiting but it did not mean that the pain was any less. AkaKuro, Onesided AkaOC, Chara Death, Warlock/Witch! AU, Yaoi

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognized. Enough said.

Waiting

Waiting.

That was a thing that he had infinite patience for. Being who he was, waiting was a life lesson that he learned very early on. Waiting to be noticed. Waiting to be asked. Waiting to be picked. Waiting to be answered. Waiting for his parents to remember his existence. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

That was why when he told him to wait, he did just that.

Waiting.

Waiting for them to come of age. Waiting for them to complete the bond. Waiting for him to be financially stable (though he could care less about that). Waiting for his Sire to propose to him, his Bearer. Waiting for the day they were to be joined, to be fully bonded as the dormant link between them demanded.

Waiting. Always waiting.

...ooOoo...

Kuroko Tetsuya was, for all intents and purposes, a very ordinary warlock. Average height, average intelligence (though extremely high perceptivity), average amount of magical energy. Cursed with a weak presence since birth, most of what he knew was self-taught or learnt from watching another being guided by their teacher. He did not stand out in any environment and he found no need to; even though he had a shocking mop of sky blue hair, no one ever noticed him. And he was content with the way things are.

All of that changed one day when he practiced the Summoning spell in an empty gymnasium. He often stayed longer in school in order to study or practice a spell that was difficult for him and that day was no different. After hours of practicing and summoning, he finally managed to summon a Familiar. His Familiar was a puppy. The top of his coat was black, while his tummy and legs were snow-white. He had two white spots for eyebrows. His most distinctive feature was that his eyes greatly resemble Kuroko's, they were of the same colour and were oval-shaped as well.

Kuroko smiled slightly; it did not matter that his Familiar was just a puppy or even a dog, really. Being able to summon at age 14 was already considered impressive. For a while, the Master and the Familiar just stared at each other. Finally, after a few minutes, Kuroko reached out a pale hand and patted the dog.

"Nigou," he whispered. "From now on, your name is Nigou."

The puppy barked once and its tail wagged happily. They spent the next few hours to familiarize themselves with each other. The teen giving out orders and the dog fulfilling said orders. Suddenly, they were interrupted by noises from outside the gym.

"I told you that this gym is haunted, Ahomine." A gruff voice could be heard and by the way the voice was quivering, it was clear that the owner of the voice was scared of ghosts even though ghosts do not exist.

"Who are you calling aho, Bakagami? Ghosts don't exist, only spirits and poltergeists do. We learn that while in elementary." A lazy voice drawled and judging by the way this one sounded, Kuroko was willing to bet his favourite vanilla milkshake that he (because what else could the gender of a baritone voice could be) was close to falling asleep on his legs.

"Wait. Are you telling me that you actually paid attention in class?! You, of all people?" The first voice exclaimed.

"Pot, meet kettle." Came the reply.

The pale warlock chuckled. He might not have met the owners of the voices yet but he was sure that they would be as amusing as he thought they were. His attention was drawn yet again when the first voice screamed.

"There! Did you hear that?! Someone laughed just now! Quick, Aomine, we need to exorcise the ghost!"

"Like I said, there's no – Hey! What're you –"

The second voice was abruptly cut off and Kuroko could see why when two males came barrelling into the supposedly haunted gym. A warlock was hiding behind another warlock who looked like he would rather go home and sleep than be anywhere near there. Raising an eyebrow, the phantom adolescent studied their features. The one that was in front of the cowering male had really tanned skin with the muscular body of someone who clearly exercises regularly. He had navy blue hair that was quite short. His hair was parted on his right side. He wore a frown on his face, with his dark blue eyes slightly squinted, as if searching for evidence of a ghost. Kuroko figured that this was Aomine.

Finding nothing out of place, Aomine dragged his friend from behind him and made a gesture as if to say 'ta-dah', indicating that there was no ghost. The warlock that was hiding behind the tanned teen earlier was really tall and muscular, just like Aomine. In fact, Kuroko was sure that they were about the same height. The second teen had toned deep bright dark red hair and red eyes. His eyes were pointed and narrow and his eyebrows were quite thick and split in two. He was not quite as tanned as Aomine, though.

"See, Kagami? There's no ghost. You were probably imagining it."

"How can I imagine something, you dolt?!"

"Hmm, yeah, you're right. You don't have enough imagination and brain space."

"Exactly! Wait, what?"

As Kagami and Aomine proceeded to argue, Nigou looked at its Master and saw that its Master, while seemingly unruffled on the outside, was annoyed at the disturbance. Deciding to end this stupid debacle, said Master coughed and spoke.

"Excuse me. I'm right here."

The shrieks and screams that replied his words were music to his ears. Never let it be said that Kuroko Tetsuya was not a sadist. After waiting for a few minutes for the two idiots to finish grovelling and praying at every divine being that they knew, he decided to grab their attention and introduced himself and his familiar.

...ooOoo...

Aomine Daiki and Kagami Taiga.

Those were the names of his first real friends. Of course, after berating him for scarin – sorry, startling the hell out of them and made them let out (un) manly shrieks, they introduced themselves and the trio found themselves hanging out at the gym every day after school. At first Kagami was adverse to Nigou's presence but after proving itself to be quite intelligent (read: Kagami had to be saved by a dog of all being to prevent himself from burning his eyebrows off due to accidentally adding monkshood instead of witch hazel for his Burn-healing Balm potion), Kagami was more than happy to accept the puppy.

This routine continued on until one abrupt day when he showed up. It all started quite normally. Kuroko was practicing the Area Spell with Kagami playing fetch with Nigou and Aomine snoring away on the floor. The doors to the gym was suddenly opened causing the duo to stop what they were doing and for Aomine to wake up. Three students walked inside and ignoring Kagami's sputtering and Aomine's annoyance, the phantom analyzed the newcomers.

The tallest one was abnormally tall for someone his age. He had shoulder length, lavender hair that touches his back and violet eyes. His entire demeanour screamed boredom and this could be seen with the way he ignored everyone and focused on the snacks in his arms instead. The next one had dark green hair parted to the left that did not reach his eyes. He had light green eyes and wore black-framed glasses that were framed on all sides except the top. He was very tall, being only 10 centimetres or so shorter than the teen with purple hair. His left hand bandaged and was holding a green toy frog. Kuroko wisely decided not to comment.

He swept his gaze past the bespectacled teen and looked at the final person; their leader or figure of authority, judging by the way the way the others subtly refer to him even though he was the shortest. When the former's blue eyes finally settled on the teen, he found red eyes boring deep into his soul and unravelling all the secrets he kept. And he knew, just knew that he had finally, finally found him.

His Sire. His reason of being. The one his soul, his body, his mind, his entire existence was promised to since the dawn of time. His soul mate.

Kuroko's breath was caught in his throat. His Sire was here and his magic, dear gods, his magic was singing to him (just as he knew his magic sang out to him too) and it was so, so addicting. It took every inch of his willpower to not succumb to his instinct to hug, to please, to be dominated by his soul mate. He has spiky red hair and large eyes with vertical pupils. He was a little bit taller than Kuroko making him the shortest of the six people gathered there, but he found himself not caring; after all, for a Sire to be taller than a Bearer was normal, expected even (something about manly pride and all that).

His soul mate was handsome and very, very attractive with his half-lidded gaze and slight quirk of the lip that was not quite a smirk. When he spoke, a string of melodious, slightly boyish but sultry voice, with a unique, rough lilt came out and Kuroko knew he was gone.

He had fallen. Hard.

"Aomine, Kagami, it's certainly rare to see you guys linger around after school," the redhead paused, eyes never leaving Kuroko's, "especially considering that you are with my soul mate."

A pin drop silence. Everything was still. Even the purple-haired warlock had stop eating in order to process the shocking information. Then, chaos ensued.

"What?! How did you know about Kuroko?!" Kagami.

"Wait a minute, Akashi! What do you mean by soul mate?" The green-haired teen.

"Aka-chin's soul mate? Where?" The giant, snack-loving teen looked around to find said soul mate.

"What do you mean you're Tetsu's soul mate?!" Aomine practically shouted in Akashi's face.

Kuroko just shifted uneasily and Akashi sent him a reassuring smile which was returned shyly. The latter ignored the others and focused on Aomine. And suddenly, Aomine found himself on the receiving end of a deceptive smile. Akashi was angry, furious even, this could be seen in his eyes. The blood red eyes were glinting in malice and painted over with bloodshed. Why? Aomine had no idea but his instincts screamed at him to get the fuck away from there and run. Run and never come back. The sleeping devil is awake and out for blood.

"Tetsu, was it? Since when were you so familiar with my soul mate, Aomine, when even I just met him today?"

Aomine gulped and he could see the others sending him pitying looks and gestured with their hands that they would visit his grave.

"Well?" Akashi raised an eyebrow, silently demanding an answer.

"W-Well," Aomine stuttured, "it's just a nickname, ya' know. Calling him Kuroko all the time is a hassle and he gave me permission to."

The redhead turned to his soul mate's direction and this time, his two companions could finally see the elusive soul mate and to be frank, they barely managed to keep their gasps of surprise to suddenly see someone standing there.

"Is this true..." Akashi trailed off, not knowing his Bearer's full first name and refusing to call him by his last name.

"Kuroko Tetsuya, pleased to meet you. And it's true. I gave Aomine-kun permission to refer me as such, Akashi-kun."

The Akashi heir smiled fondly, causing the others to wonder if he was bipolar or something to change from one emotion to another so fast. Tetsuya, he thought, such a beautiful name for a beautiful being. He approached Kuroko and held his hand out.

"I am Akashi Seijuro, pleased to meet you too," he waited until his soul mate shook his hand but when the latter tried to pull his hand away, Akashi merely held it tighter, "I am elated that we have finally met each other and please," he raised Kuroko's hand and lowered his head to meet it halfway but still managing to keep eye contact with the slightly flustered teen, "call me Seijuro, Tetsuya." And he placed a chaste kiss on the back of the Bearer's hand, causing the poor warlock to flush a deep red.

Oh yes, he grinned wickedly, Tetsuya will definitely be the perfect Bearer.

As he waited for the teen to collect himself, he gestured for the two teens that came with him to introduce themselves. The first one to introduce himself was the teen with green hair. "Midorima Shintaro. By the way, what is your astrological sign?"

"It's Aquarius, Midorima-kun." The greenhead nodded and looked away, prompting the purple-haired giant next to Akashi to go next. "Murasakibara Atsushi. You're so small. I want to crush you." And proceeded to ruffle the annoyed teen's hair.

"I'm not small, Murasakibara-kun. You're just abnormally tall."

"Kuro-chin is still small compared to me."

Ignoring the slight insult, he asked, "Kuro-chin?"

The giant smiled lazily. "Kuro-chin is Kuro-chin."

Small talks were made until Kagami finally asked the question that everyone was dying to find the answer to. They were all sitting on the floor forming a circle, except for Kuroko who was sitting on top of Akashi's crossed legs due to the redhead's insistence and said redhead was rubbing his nose on his soul mate's nape and/or hair as well as occasionally sniffing his scent. Akashi's arms were wrapped gently but possessively around Kuroko's waist.

"So, Akashi, how did you know Kuroko is your soul mate? Not that we doubt you, 'cause we don't, but how?"

Akashi placed his chin on top of his love's shoulder and hummed thoughtfully, pondering the best way to answer the question.

"Do any of you know what a promised soul is?" He inquired after several minutes.

"Nope."

"No."

"Aka-chin, is that a new kind of snack?"

Midorima sighed at their stupidity and adjusted his glasses before explaining. "You idiots, a promised soul is similar to the idea of soul mates that humans are so proud of. From birth, or perhaps even before, one warlock or witch can be magically promised to another. No one knows why it happens, but some people are born with the ability to love only one person they are set to search for from birth. It's a bit like vampires or werewolves and their mates. The magic is ancient and rare."

Seeing the three stooges'[1] awed faces, he continued, "When they bond to each other, their very souls fuse together. They become unbelievably powerful, and there have only been a handful of these bonds in the history of time - but every time, the pair becomes a sort of superpower - almost as if you could have God settle your arguments. That is, if you can find them. They are notoriously secretive."

"Very good, Midorima." Akashi complimented.

Midorima coughed to hide his embarrassment and happiness at being praised and ploughed on, "These bonds are so rare and so highly regarded that it was considered a sin to break two souls that were promised to each other apart and it is a crime that is punishable by death."

Kagami and Aomine's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not. In fact, this law was made because there had been cases where the bonds were broken due to several cases such as different social status, the gender of the promised soul - and yes, the bonds does not necessarily have to be a male-female bond. It could also be male-male bond like Akashi and Kuroko here or a female-female bond – as well as a number of other reasons." Midorima took a deep breath before continuing.

"It has been known that from the first moment they saw each other, there was immediately a connection between them just like what we saw between Akashi and Kuroko earlier. As they grow older and become of age, they will be old enough in soul for the bond to be really felt. Most of them choose to pursue a romantic bond while some – a rare minority – choose friendship or a platonic bond instead. Regardless of the type of bond, one thing is for sure, if you lose your soul mate, the most painful thing you have ever experienced has nothing on the pain of feeling that hole where your soul mate should be."

Everyone was silent, mulling over the information. Kuroko realized that the hands around his waist were tighter now (though not enough to discomfort him) especially during the part where soul mates died because of people's ignorance. Aomine nodded, seemingly figured it out.

"It fits. With what I know of soul mates, that is. Well, since we don't want Akashi or Tetsu to die of heartbreak, let's do our best to protect them."

Everyone chuckled but nodded and just like that, the somber mood vanished. True to their words, they tried very hard so that no one will find out about Akashi and Kuroko being soul mates especially the former's father after the redhead revealed that his father had more than once hinted for him to find a suitable woman (read: a girl of nobility and old money that had been raised in opulence and wealth and therefore was snobbish and bitchy to a fault) to marry and produce an heir with. Their days continued like that, with them meeting in the rarely used gym after school and then proceeded to do whatever they want (read: Akashi and Kuroko kissing and groping each other and the others trying very hard to ignore them to no avail).

Alas, all good things must come to an end. Akashi's father found out about them and to say that he was angry was the understatement of the century. Imagine their surprise when the Akashi patriarch confronted them at the school gates when the six friends decided to go to a store to buy some ice-creams to escape the heat. At first, the conversation between father and son was hushed due to the presence of the lingering students that was more than curious of what was transpiring. But then everything escalated when the older Akashi insulted Kuroko and the younger Akashi lost control of his temper. A shouting match ensued with the latter's friends trying to calm him down and the former's subordinates trying to quell his anger.

"What do you see in that boy, Seijuro?"

"He's my soul mate!"

A complete silence followed that exclamation. Then, the mogul's eyes hardened and he signalled for his subordinates to grab his son. Before anyone realized what happened, the younger Akashi was already on his way to the limousine.

"Seijuro, I will only say this once. You will no longer pursue this foolishness. I will allow you to continue your education in this school but you will not make any contact with the boy. You are to return home immediately after class ends or you will be transferred to another school. Is that clear?"

His son's eyes were wide with betrayal but he replied with gritted teeth. "Crystal."

...ooOoo...

From the moment Akashi revealed his father's intentions for the redhead and his future, Kuroko knew that this would happen. The separation, that is. So he waited. Waited for the situation to turn around. Waiting for something or someone to reunite them again.

He was used to waiting but it did not mean that the pain was any less.

...ooOoo...

The first week was hell. Torture. It was hard to pass by your beloved in the school hallways but unable to reach out to him for fear of being separated further. As Akashi's father dictated, a limousine was waiting at the school gates when the final bell rang. Every day, Kuroko had to watch Akashi walk away from him with obvious resignation and reluctance. Some tried to help them, especially those that heard Akashi announcing Kuroko as his soul mate, but the redhead's father made sure that none of it reached the authority. And so, they were forced to act like they were strangers.

It was even worse when teachers paired them up for a project. They talked, yes, but they could only talk for a minimum amount of time and even then, it was only about the project. The most that they could do was having a covert conversation that had hidden meanings and veiled responses as well as the lingering touches when passing ingredients and soft caresses when no one that supported the mogul was looking. What used to be 'I love you' and 'I miss you' became 'Blue is better' and 'Red must be added'. It was absolutely maddening and the only thing that made them feel better was the slight respite that they had when they were in the male restroom where they were alone and free to touch, to kiss for a few minutes without worry.

Days passed by and the distance was killing them but neither knew what to do. Until one day when Akashi had an epiphany and he almost slammed his head to the wall for not thinking of it sooner. He went to his walk-in closet and rummaged around until he saw what he was looking for. Testing to make sure that it still works, he wrote a note, placed it inside the box and wrapped the box with a nondescript brown paper. After shrinking the package to palm-sized, he put it inside the pocket of his school uniform and cheerfully went to sleep, seemingly could not wait for tomorrow to come.

When the next day arrived, the redhead schooled his expression so that no one could figure out what he was planning. He went through the day as was usual and had to restrain himself from comforting his soul mate whenever he saw the mournful blue eyes and the cotton blue hair that he adored so much hanging limply on his Bearer's head, seemingly lacklustre. Not for the first time, he cursed himself for being saddled with the luck of being born into the Akashi family. If he was of common blood, then this would never happen.

He forced himself to look away from the sight of Kuroko conversing with Aomine and Kagami and to his luck, saw Midorima walking towards him with Murasakibara in tow. He took a deep breath to steel himself and spoke out with what he hoped was a convincing tone of voice.

"Midorima, come to the student council office with me. There are a few paperwork that need our attention."

Midorima immediately saw through ruse and inclined his head to show that he understood it. Akashi heaved a silent breath of relief and the both of them walked towards the student council room. When they arrived, they saw that it was empty and they quickly went inside shut the door and cast a silencing spell.

"What's your plan?"

Akashi smirked and pulled out the shrunk package which he then passed to the other warlock.

"Inside that package is something that will help Tetsuya and I with our communication problem. Tell him to lock his door and draw the curtains before cancelling the Shrinking spell on the package."

"Noted. I will tell him." Midorima started to walk away.

"Where do you think you are going?" Akashi raised a red eyebrow.

"To pass this package and your message to Kuroko, of course."

"Midorima," the inflection of the redhead's voice clearly stated that he was amused. "I was not lying when I said that there was work for us to do."

Midorima silently groaned.

...ooOoo...

When the bespectacled teen passed him the small brown box and Akashi's message, Kuroko was elated. Finally, something to help them with their problem.

So, Kuroko waited. Waited for the time to pass by.

When he reached home, he did as was instructed and turned on the lights to help him see in the dark. He carefully tore away the wrapping so that it would not be a mess and opened the mahogany box and saw a round mirror. The edges of the mirror was inlaid with precious gems and despite showing signs of obvious wear, the mirror was still in great condition. The teen placed the mirror down and carefully unfolded the note that Akashi place. It read:

Tetsuya,

You cannot even begin to imagine how much I missed you during our unfortunate separation. I, myself, had nearly hex myself for my forgetfulness and allowed ourselves to endure unnecessary amount of pain due to not being able to talk freely longer. The mirror that I gave you is one of the pair of a two-way mirror.[2] Simply say my name into it; you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be able to talk in yours.

Love,

Seijuro

Kuroko smiled and immediately whispered his love's name to the surface of the mirror, his breath causing it to fog up a little before fading away. True to what Akashi wrote, the redhead's handsome face appeared in the mirror and the blue-haired warlock could hardly feel the tears of happiness streaming down his face yet he felt no shame as he could see that his beloved was crying too. They stayed like that for a few minutes just basking in the feeling that they were (somewhat) reunited again. Akashi was the one to collect himself first and seeing his love shed tears in happiness just because the redhead was simply there, he could not help but to coo and whisper sweet words to the mirror to calm Kuroko down.

After the younger teen's hiccups subsided, they then proceeded to talk about nothing and everything for hours on end, almost as if the pair had not met each other for years; though, being what they were, that might as well have been the truth.

Both of them went to sleep in a much better mood that night.

...ooOoo...

The next morning, Kuroko was confronted by his friends on why he was less sad compared to the previous days and after explaining it, Kagami and Aomine finally stopped their rage while Murasakibara and Midorima tried and failed to act normally during their after school routine (only Akashi was not there anymore). Actually, that was a blessing, but he was too miserable to appreciate it. The fact was that he missed his soul mate horribly. He could barely sleep without Akashi's scent on him now, and the continuing days without rest were wearing on him. Then he remembered the few naps he had taken at the abandoned gym while clutching the redhead's shirt, somehow managing to sleep even when the teen was elsewhere, and an idea occurred to him.

"Send me your shirt," Kuroko ordered desperately into the mirror that night. Then, taking in the dark circles under Akashi's eyes, matching his own, added, "I'll send you mine too."

"My shirt?" was the bewildered question.

"The one you're wearing now. Don't wash it."

Understanding lit Akashi's features and he nodded.

The night after the package arrived (Midorima had resigned himself as the go-between for the both of them), Kuroko got his first full night's rest in over a week. He slept with Akashi's shirt draped over his pillow, surrounding him in the older warlock's soothing scent. Akashi finally slept too, and when a week later the scents started to fade, they each sent the other a new one, fresh from their backs. It wasn't the same as being together, but it made things bearable.

The bliss for the next few weeks that followed this lull was, however, shattered cruelly when it was announced publically that scion of the House of Akashi were to be engaged with a noble girl following his graduation from middle school. The shock that said scion felt was nothing compared to the utter devastation that was shown on his beloved's visage. It can be felt with just a mere look and the redhead could only guess how Kuroko must really felt so he forced himself to look away from the agonizing sight.

After the latter arrived home that night, he was in no mood for eating so he immediately went to his bedroom. Imagine his surprise when he saw his childhood friend – a goofy werewolf by the name of Ogiwara Shigehiro – lying languidly on his floor. Said werewolf has short chestnut coloured hair, while the lower darker brown, that was splayed out around his head like a halo. He has brown coloured eyes that lit up in happiness as soon as he saw Kuroko but it immediately dimmed after he sniffed the scent that hung around the latter like a miasma.

"Hey, Kuroko," the brunet asked tentatively, "why are you so sad? Did you get into a fight with your soul mate?"

Since the both of them had always been together since they were kids, they came to see each other as brothers and no secrets were kept from the other so naturally, Ogiwara knew about Akashi from his brother in all but blood.

"N-No, Ogiwara-kun. We didn't get into a fight. How can we, when we barely saw each other face to face?"

The ever dense werewolf cocked his head to the left. "Then, what's the problem?"

Kuroko, a testament to his chaotic mind, threw his hands up in the air and ranted. "That's exactly the problem! We barely see each other in school and when we talk, it was with a two-way mirror in the middle of the night and even then, it was not every night because we're so afraid that his father will cotton on."

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold your horses. Start from the beginning."

With a sigh, the warlock sat on the chair beside his study table and told his childhood friend everything that has transpired for the past three months after he and Akashi met. After hearing the story, saying Ogiwara Shigehira was mad was like saying Mount Fuji was big.

The werewolf ranted on and on about laws and soul mates and capital punishments. Seeing his first friend acting this way was enough to make the pain subside a little and it was with an unspoken agreement that the taller male would be having a sleepover that night.

Ogiwara might seem to be a very cheerful, friendly, enthusiastic and optimistic person. He was also clumsy and sort of an airhead. He also had a very bad habit of leaving crumbs on his face, assuming he did not clean up after eating. But he was reliable and supported Kuroko in every decision that he made.

And for that, he was grateful.

...ooOoo...

Akashi could not seem to be able to meet his eyes the days following the heartbreaking announcement and that suited the phantom just fine. He did not know how he would be able to act normally and spoke to the redhead knowing that one day the latter would be someone else's.

His steps faltered and he clutched his shirt where his heart would be. The twinge of pain was enough of an answer and he suddenly felt like being alone. Aomine and Kagami sent him questioning looks but he shook his head and gestured to the direction of the infirmary, hoping that they would understand. They did and they gave him imperceptible nods, silently conveying to make a believable excuse of him not being in class for the rest of the day. Kuroko smiled in appreciation and walked away, not noticing the worried looks a certain redhead sent to his back.

The infirmary was deserted when he entered but he found himself not caring. It was better this way. He went to the bed nearest to the window and drew the privacy curtains so that he would not be disturbed. He lay on the bed, sighed and placed his forearm over his eyes. What he did not expect was for the bed to dip in the weight of another person and for extremely familiar arms to wrap themselves around him as well as the equally familiar weight on his stomach.

He removed his harm and saw a well known mop of hair on top of his stomach while the owner was watching him silently. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments before the other person opened his mouth.

"Hey."

"Hi."

A comfortable silence.

"I'm sorry for what happened."

"It's not your fault."

Akashi looked like he was about to argue but ultimately decided against it. He did not want to fight. This was a rare moment for the both of them and he wanted it to be filled with nothing but joy and happiness so instead, he asked, "How have you been?"

"I'm fine, as far as things go. It hurts, of course, but I know that we'll make it through. As long as we don't give up."

The redhead smiled wistfully and rose to sit near Kuroko. The latter sat up on the bed and the former reached out to cup his face.

"I'm sorry this has to happen, my love. I'll find a way for us to be together. He can't keep us apart forever."

"I'll wait for as long as it'll take, Seijuro-kun."

The promise between them was sealed with a kiss so chaste yet so full of love that they could only convinced themselves that the wetness they felt were merely sweat.

...ooOoo...

Kuroko stayed up late that night. It was raining heavily and the noise kept him up so he decided to review the list of spells, hexes and curses that they learned the previous years. He debated on calling Ogiwara to chat with him but decided against it. He had no doubt that his neighbour was currently asleep; it was nearly midnight after all.

Then, he heard it. A knocking noise on his window.

He blinked in confusion. His bedroom was on the second floor and even though there was a tree that had a branch that reached the window, climbing said tree in this window was short of suicidal. So he chalked it up to his imagination playing with him and it was just the twigs hitting on his window due to the raging wind outside.

Still, when he heard it again, he slowly pulled the curtains back and his eyes widened in horror when instead of twigs hitting his window, he saw his soul mate perched on the tree's thankfully sturdy branch with his hand poised to knock on his window again. He took it the redhead's appearance and saw that he was carrying a duffle bag and was not wearing any raincoat.

In the middle of a storm.

So he was thoroughly drenched.

As soon as he came to the realization, he opened his window quickly and it was a challenge to get Akashi inside as quiet as possible without waking the whole household up. He quickly pointed to the direction of his bathroom for the Akashi heir to take a warm shower and the latter did so without any complaint. The former quickly shut his window and drew the curtains closed again but not before checking to see if anyone had followed his beloved. When there was none, he heaved a silent sigh of relief. Glancing around in the chaotic state of his bedroom, he muttered a few spells and everything was back in order within the blink of an eye.

Akashi stepped out of the bathroom clad only in boxers and a towel hanging around his neck, absorbing the droplets of water from his hair. Kuroko felt his face heating up and he turned around in embarrassment. It heated up even more when he heard the redhead chuckle and suddenly, he found himself sitting on the bed in between the latter's legs, his back to Akashi's bare chest. Arms wrapped around him in a possessive manner and he nearly melted in a puddle of goo when familiar mouth placed small kisses on his nape and shoulder.

"Don't think that this will make me forgive you, Seijuro-kun. You nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw you outside."

"I had no other choice, love. Father is away from the country for a week and all the servants are busy with the preparations for my birthday party next month. So tonight is the best time to run away from home."

The wandering hands were doing a very good job in distracting him, not to mention the lips but he was determined to get his answers.

"Then, what will happen when he gets back? Won't you get in trouble? He'll do anything to bring you back."

A dark chuckle beside his ear sent shivers down his spine.

"No, I won't. My mother's cousin is a renowned Seer so she, more than anyone, knew the consequences of angering the gods by separating what they had joined in heavens. In fact, she was the one that suggested I run away tonight. As for bringing me back to that miserable place, I had already provided physical proof to my aunt that we are indeed soul mates so if push comes to shove, she will show the proof to the authorities and the one that will be in fault will be my father."

Understanding dawned on his face and he twisted his body to look at his soul mate, unknowingly straddling the redhead's lap.

"So, does that mean that we're free to be together?"

Akashi smirked and ran his hand through Kuroko's hair, the smaller male leaning into the touch.

"Yes, Tetsuya. We are free to be together."

The smile that answered his statement was enough for the taller warlock to make his heart almost burst in happiness. They sat in silence for a few minutes when the redhead suddenly realized their position. Smirking wider, he purred.

"By the way, Tetsuya, I did not know that you are this bold."

"Huh?"

Gesturing downwards, Kuroko saw what he meant and blushed, especially after his brain had finally registered the sensation of something poking his thigh. He made to move away but the firm grip around his waist prevented it.

"Ah, ah, ah. Naughty Tetsuya. You need to take care of that."

Kuroko blushed even more but nodded. Slowly, he wrapped his arms loosely around his boyfriend's neck and kissed him chastely. It was not that they had never kissed before but this was the first time that the latter was aroused. The kiss was responded in a passionate way and the teen's heart sang at the way he was able to be with his beloved again.

He hummed into the kiss until Akashi's hands, wound in his hair, tugged his head back for a different angle. The taller warlock started nipping as well as licking playfully at his neck and Kuroko ran his hands restlessly over the bare chest before him, as he sat straddling his soul mate's lap. He had always loved touching Akashi's body, all broad shoulders and toned muscles compared to his own smaller figure.

Lips captured his once more and something wet slid across his lower lips. He opened his mouth in silent submission and a tongue dove in, stroking against his own. Without thought, he squirmed closer… and his breath hitched, answered by the nearly inaudible groan of his soul mate. He stilled and pulled back to look at the redhead, hands clenched tightly in his sheets, doubtless wrinkling the silky material.

"Can I?" He asked breathlessly. "Can we? Please."

Akashi's eyes, already liquid fire, became darker. In silent answer hands slipped from Kuroko's hair, ran down his back, and then came to rest on his hips; the sensation of his soul mate's touches sending his mind into an overload. Gripping firmly, the redhead tugged him closer. The younger warlock gave a silent cry of pleasure as the other moaned. The latter pushed him back a little then repeated the movement.

Getting the hint, Kuroko began rocking against Akashi, whose hands remained firm on his hips. Languid kisses turned hotter and more passionate as the blue-haired teen's movements became faster and faster till he was rubbing against his beloved desperately. More, more, he needed more. Akashi trailed kisses to Kuroko's neck and suddenly, bit down. The Bearer stiffened, cried loudly, and came, his Sire following soon after.

It was some time before he was able to speak again. He blinked hazily, feeling Akashi kissing and licking softly at what was surely a visible mark on his neck. He did not have the energy to move from where he lay slumped against Akashi's chest, but he could manage a few words.

"You bit me!" he accused.

"You liked it," the redhead purred, wicked and unapologetic.

The smaller male huffed, but couldn't deny it was true.

"Probably left a mark," he muttered instead.

"It did," Akashi confirmed, radiating smugness.

He rolled his eyes at the obvious smugness from the redhead. Sires and their need to mark their Bearers. They stayed in bliss before a thought occurred to him. He sat up and Akashi stared at him curiously.

"I wish we could complete the bonding. It'd be almost like we were never apart then." Kuroko suddenly realised that the redhead had tensed. "Seijuro-kun?" A terrible thought occurred to him. "Do you – I mean, I know some soul mates settle for friendships. Do you not want me that way? Ha – Have you changed your mind?"

The question came out sounding far more vulnerable than he'd like, and immediately he was being held close. He remained stiff in the embrace, afraid of the answer he'd receive.

'No, no, that's not it at all, Tetsuya. Of course I do. I want us to bond fully, as soul mates and lovers… eventually."

"Eventually?"

Akashi sighed and raked his hand through his hair.

"Tetsuya, I – At the moment, the only possessions I have are some clothes, a few useful books and a quite large sum of money that I managed to withdraw from my bank account but eventually, even that will be gone in a few years. The aunt that I told you about has offered to help me with my financial problem but again, that could only last for so long."

"But –"

Akashi cut him off. "Tetsuya, please, I know that you could care less about it but the moment that we are fully bonded is the moment that you are released from your parents care and will be my whole responsibility. How can I look at myself in the mirror knowing that I dragged you down because of my selfishness?"

"You know that I'm willing to suffer with you." Kuroko responded dejectedly. Akashi smiled and cupped his face, placing a quick peck to his lips.

"I know that you are, beloved. And words can't describe how happy I am to know that. But I want to be able to support you and any children we have. To have a house of our own. To be able to buy anything and everything you need and want. To see the joy in our future children's faces as they play with the toys that I buy." The teen's breath hitched and he felt delighted in the true happiness reflected on Akashi's face. It was an expression that was rarely seen, but had been treated to more and more frequently when they were alone. He himself was also happier than he had been in life ever since he met the redhead.

Unknowing of the blue-haired teen's thoughts, Akashi continued while looking at Kuroko in the eyes. "Don't you want that, Tetsuya? I think that it is a wonderful dream, one that I will do everything in my power to make sure that it will come true."

"Yes, Seijuro-kun," it came out breathlessly but neither of them cared, "I would love that very much."

"Good. Now let's get to sleep, love. We'll have quite a day tomorrow, trying to explain my presence to your parents." Chuckles replied that comment and with a wave of Akashi's hand, any evidence of their activity earlier disappeared and they fell asleep in each other's embrace.

True to his words, the next morning was short of chaos and the presence of Ogiwara was not helping the matter. Finally, after they explained everything, the entire Kuroko household wholeheartedly accepted Akashi in the house with the condition from Kuroko's father that there were to be no funny business between the two of them or they would be sleeping in separate rooms. Since they were not planning anything of the sort, they quickly agreed to it.

The atmosphere in the house was so warm and cheerful compared to his own cold and lonely house that Akashi found himself relaxing and laughing alongside the occupants in the house. After they had eaten breakfast, any help to clear the table and wash the dishes was politely refused by the matriarch of the house and the three teens found themselves back in Kuroko and Akashi's shared room. Ogiwara looked at the couple for a moment before clearing his throat, gaining their attention.

"So, mind telling me why you guys lied?"

Upon receiving questioning looks, he elaborated. "You guys promised that you won't have sex with each other until you are of age but you guys are clearly lying."

"Ogiwara," Akashi spoke wearily, "it's not what you think."

"Don't Ogiwara me, Akashi. It's exactly what I think. You know how good a werewolf's sense of smell is and considering the fact that I am one, the scent is practically stuck in my nose. You're both covered in the scent of each other and – and sex. You've been having sex with Kuroko."

"Actually," the blue-haired teen piped up blithely, "I think the technical term is frottage."

"Gahh! Too much information, Kuroko. What on – Wait, what? You mean you guys didn't..." he trailed off. The teen in front of him shook their heads and the brunet's cheek pinked, embarrassed at himself for jumping into conclusions. He coughed to hide it. "Err..right. Sorry about that. Kuroko is like a little brother to me so I guess I got a little overprotective."

"It's alright. You were acting in concern for Tetsuya and for that, I cannot blame you."

Ogiwara grinned and began to chat amiably with the redhead to get to know what would one day be his sort of brother-in-law. Kuroko watched the interaction with a fond smile. He might have to wait for a few more years before being bonded fully to Akashi but since it was what the redhead wanted and for many good reasons, he placated himself.

After all, he was used to waiting.

...ooOoo...

"Your meddling was unnecessary, Alex! Seijuro would have been happy to meet his fiancée if you did not help him to run away from home."

"Happy to meet that insolent child? Listen to yourself, you heard him yourself that Kuroko Tetsuya is his rightful soul mate, the person that his soul is promised to. Separating them will only bring about the rage of the gods to you."

"What could the gods possible do to me? They haven't meddled in mortal's affairs in eons and they won't now just because of a low born who could not fathom that my son is not for him."

A slap resounded throughout the room.

"Don't you dare insult the innocent boy! He could not control who he was promised to any more that you could control the death of your wife. Listen to me, Masaomi, the gods had spoken; if you don't stop this folly, then your bloodline will end and there would be nothing you can do about it."

The male scoffed and walked away but not before sneering at the blonde.

"Watch me."

Alexandra Garcia, one of the most renowned Seers in the world sat on a chair, cradling her head in her palm.

"I have warned him. The rest will depend on his actions. Be careful, Seijuro, Tetsuya. May the gods shower you with blessings."

...ooOoo...

A few weeks after arriving at his beloved's house in an impromptu fashion, Akashi had settled fully into the hustle and bustle of what he now considered his home. They also told their friends, of course, and after being teased good-naturedly and enduring ribbing from the slightly perverted ones, all of them settled into their after school routine naturally, almost as if the past few months never even occurred.

But still, you cannot expect two hormonal teenagers to share a room and a bed together without anything going on, can you? Such an instance was one night when Kuroko went to take a shower, not knowing that Akashi was already inside and was naked.

The former entered into the bathroom silently and froze. Even through the steam Akashi's naked back side was clearly visible and he was – well, gorgeous did not even cover it. Kuroko's eyes trailed from tip to toe, lingering in various places. Broad shoulders, a perfectly sculpted ass, strong thighs. In his daze he'd delayed in closing the door, and the redhead, alerted by the cooler air, looked over his shoulder.

"Tetsuya?" The teen asked, eyes wide.

The blue-haired teen said nothing. Instead, he softly closed the door then moved purposely toward the shower. He paused only to strip off his shirt, tugged his pants over his building erection and down his legs, kicking them aside, before continuing forward once more.

Akashi had gone quite still, and his eyes had become heavy-lidded and intent. The moment the smaller teen stepped into the shower, the redhead finally turned to face him, tugging the younger warlock into his arms beneath the spray. Kuroko could feel now that he was not the only one wanting more at this moment. But Akashi's actions were surprisingly restrained. He held Kuroko close, and pressed their lips together softly and chastely once, then twice, before pulling back and resting their foreheads together.

"Tetsuya." The low, tension-filled tone of the redhead's voice was at odds with his almost gentle actions. "You're trying to kill me, I swear; tempting me like this." He swallowed hard, closed his eyes for a moment as if regaining control, before opening them again. "You know we have to be careful not to go too far. We promised your father, Tetsuya, not to mention to ourselves. We can't –"

"I know." Kuroko reassured him. "It's just...I've been feeling uneasy and lonely lately and...and I...Never mind. This is stupid."

As he turn away to leave, he was surprised when he was stopped.

"No, it's not stupid. This can't ever be stupid. I apologize if I unintentionally made you feel lonely, Tetsuya. If I had known, then I would have remedied the situation."

The redhead gently grabbed his chin and tilted his head upwards, loving red eyes staring at fondly. The latter raised his head even further and met a pair of lips half way. Hands began to wander to caress each other, the touches so tender that it was almost as if the owners were worshipping the body that they held. Before long, the touches went lower and lower until finally Akashi tore his lips away from Kuroko's as the smaller teen gently moved his hand along his soul mate's penis.

"Great gods, Tetsuya. A little firmer on the grip, love. Yes, just like that. Oh yes, I love you so much, Tetsuya."

Though the litany of praises that escaped the redhead's lips made him happy, he knew that there was a better way to pleasure Akashi, if the dirty conversations between students when they thought no one were there was anything to go by. The taller male was so immersed in the sensations that when Kuroko stopped, he was rudely brought back to reality.

"Tetsuya?"

"Seijuro-kun," the suddenly shy teen spoke and after a gentle hum from Akashi, continued, "I – I want to pleasure you even more."

Akashi was not stupid. He knew that there were quite a few ways to pleasure him even more than a hand job could that did not involved penetration. And he just knew that Kuroko did not mean by rubbing their manhood together till they reached completion.

Kuroko knew Akashi had connected the dots because instantly, red eyes turned molten crimson and pupils flared. Kuroko pressed him back toward the wall and the redhead went willingly, watching heatedly as the former aimed the showerhead away and then lowered himself to his knees.

Kuroko felt his breath hitch as he looked up at his soul mate. Despite that they were living together now, they had always been careful about keeping clothing on to avoid temptations to go too far. Neither had seen each other fully naked before this moment. And while Akashi had developed a semi-frequent habit of walking around the room half naked, Kuroko had never done the same. So the most skin Kuroko had seen of his boyfriend was when he was shirtless.

Kuroko's breathing quickened and he unconsciously bit his lower lip. He felt the strangest mix of nervous uncertainty and hot arousal as he trailed his fingers up Akashi's ankles, calves then thighs. Those fingers then travelled to the front and gripped so that Kuroko could, tentatively, take the head of Akashi's cock in his mouth, the move stretching his lips almost uncomfortably wide. He lapped at the tip, finding the taste salty.

The red-eyed male groaned gustily, releasing the breath he'd apparently been holding. His hands, Kuroko saw, were clenched into fists where they pressed back against the shower wall. The smaller warlock firmed his grip and took more in his mouth before sucking. The taller male groaned again. Kuroko's mind raced, trying to remember the conversations that he had overheard so that he could performed his self-given task perfectly. But to be honest, he did not remember much of those conversations except for bits and pieces.

He pulled back suddenly, releasing Akashi with a soft popping sound. The older male groaned again, this time, however, the sound conveyed disappointment. Kuroko rested his forehead against one of the toned thighs before him, hoping that it would hide the redness in his cheeks, and the embarrassment on his face.

"Tetsuya?" a husky voice queried from above.

Gathering every bit of courage, he forced himself to speak. Mortifying as this would be, he had to say it, because he wanted to be sure Akashi enjoyed this.

"I don't – I mean –"

"Tetsuya?" The voice sounded a little concerned now. A hand gently petted his bowed head. "Love, if you don't want to do this, you shouldn't force yourself."

"No, I – I mean, I want to do it. It's just," The hand had stilled on his hair. "I've never done this before," he finally managed to say clearly.

"Never?" Akashi sounded surprised but at the same time, immensely pleased.

"Never." Kuroko repeated softly. "When would I have the chance? I have a very weak presence so I had never been in any relationship before you."

Akashi must have really liked something about that fact, because Kuroko felt him twitch in the hand that still loosely encircled him. After a moment, Akashi's hand slid down to cup his cheek, but he was not ready to look up yet.

"I meant what I said before, Tetsuya. You don't have to do this. If not because you know you don't want to, then because you're not comfortable or ready."

Kuroko shook his head. "I want to do it, Seijuro-kun. Just –" He bit his lip and took a breath, before looking up at the older male through his lashes. "Can you teach me what to do?"

And the twitch from before was nothing to the one that question garnered. Kuroko's confidence rose, seeing how very much Akashi liked the idea of teaching him. Then fingers threaded through his hair and the smaller male willingly let their grip guide his movements, and followed every piece of advice given with focus and even enthusiasm. He loved the way Akashi's voice grew more and more strained as he complied with his directions, the way hips tried and sometimes failed not to thrust too deeply into his mouth, and the way the grip in his hair grew tighter and more insistent until, with an almost shout from the redhead, Kuroko's mouth was filled with a thick, salty liquid.

He finally pulled his mouth away and his soul mate slowly slumped down onto the shower floor looking quite sated. Kuroko absentmindedly raised a thumb to wipe from the corner of his lip and chin a smear of white that had escaped his mouth before he could swallow it all down. One second he was licking his thumb clean, trying to ignore his own now throbbing arousal, the next he heard a groan and was being dragged into Akashi's lap, back to chest, and a larger hand was grasping his erection with intent.

"My precious, perfect Tetsuya with your lovely, sinful mouth," Akashi said, voice huskily and rumbling, and almost worshipful. Then he started working his hand up and down. "Let me take care of this for you."

...ooOoo...

The male glanced down at the objects in his hand wearily and returned his gaze to the hooded witch in front of him. Then he spoke, "And you are certain that these would help me with my objective?"

A croaky voice replied him. "Of course, Lord Akashi. Just do as is instructed and the boy shall never be near your son ever again."

"Very well, witch. I will take your word for it. As per our agreement, I shall pay you the second half of your fee and this shall never be spoken of again."

"But of course, my Lord."

After the lord walked away from the dilapidated shack, the old witch could only laugh in amusement.

"Such foolishness from one of the noble blood. The greatest men I've ever met are fools in their own right so mayhap 'tis a common trend no matter the era. Then again, some fools are just fools. You have been warned twice yet you continue your selfish actions. Your arrogance will be your downfall, Akashi Masaomi."

She cackled in glee before disappearing in a burst of light.

...ooOoo...

A blonde woman woke up from her slumber in cold sweats. After taking a few deep breaths, she groaned and cradled her head in her hands.

"Dear gods, what has the idiot done now?" She sighed in exasperation. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that it was a quarter past six.

"I better go warn Seijuro about this."

...ooOoo...

Learning your aunt visiting you first thing in the morning before school was one thing.

Learning your aunt was there to deliver news that was short of a death omen was a whole other thing altogether.

The entire household plus their unexpected guest sat in silence. Finally, Akashi coughed to clear the awkwardness. Everyone looked at him.

"So, you saw a vision of my father dealing with an old witch in what could only be interpreted as a...shady business and you have reasons to believe that this...business somehow involves Tetsuya and I and that it would be hazardous to us. Did I sum it up correctly?"

Alex took a sip of her tea before answering. "Yes, you and I both know how he is and he will never give up on separating you and your soul mate even if it meant the end of the world." Suddenly realizing where she was, she gasped and added sheepishly, "Ah! No offense, Kuroko."

"None taken, Alex-san." Kuroko replied airily.

Kuroko's mother shifted nervously. "So what should we do, Alex-san? If anything were to happen to Seijuro and Tetsuya, we would be devastated."

Alex shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, even I don't know how to counter this problem. All I can suggest is for the both of you to never be alone and to stay away from Masaomi and his subordinate's. There's no telling what will happen."

"These objects," Akashi piped up, "what can they do?"

"I'm not sure, Seijuro. I've never seen them before. I'll try to do some research on it but there's no doubt that they're bad news."

The conversation ended in a solemn note and everyone tried their best to act normal. At school, however, they could not hide their uneasiness from their friends and after much pestering, repeated the conversation to them. Their friends were shocked and angered that someone would go through such lengths to separate true love. They promised the couple to keep an eye on things and to never let any of them to be alone and thus, vulnerable.

The days passed by and turned to weeks, but there were still no signs of movement from the older Akashi. Lulled by this break from stress, the six teens went to a nearby park to hang out and to release all the accumulated stress from this entire incident. Convinced that his father would not do anything foolish in a public place, Akashi brought down his guard and started to enjoy himself. None of them noticed the approaching girl until she spoke up.

"Seijuro-sama."

All conversation halted and they turned their heads towards the direction of the noise and they saw a brunette with brown eyes standing a few feet in front of them. She was wearing a cream coloured peasant top and a pair of black form fitting jeans. This outfit was completed with knee high boots and her whole stance exuded shyness, with her hands behind her back.

"My apologies, you are?" Akashi inquired. Something about the girl screamed danger and Kuroko found himself inching towards Akashi for comfort.

"Oh, how rude of me. My name is Watanabe Miyako, your would-be fiancée, Seijuro-sama."

The tension thickened and the blue-haired teen found himself narrowing his eyes at the girl who tried to take Akashi away from him. Despite their relaxed stance, the warlock knew that their friends would retaliate at first sign of trouble.

"I see and what is your purpose of coming here, Watanabe-san? Surely you must have heard of the news of me being a promised soul."

The girl reddened but she quickly gathered herself. "Of course, Seijuro-sama. I have heard it from Masaomi-sama himself but..." She trailed off and she smiled in a way that made everyone's instinct screamed Danger! Danger! at them. She moved her hands from her back and everyone could see that in one hand she was clutching to a small pouch while at the other was a pair of scissors that no amount of bribery could convince him was in any way, shape or form normal.

All of them took a step back and a crowd had begun to gather around them but the clearly demented girl ignored all of it for she continued flippantly. "But surely you must joking, right Seijuro-sama? There is no way this," here she threw a dirty look at Kuroko, "peasant would be your soul mate, right?"

"Tetsuya is my soul mate and I don't appreciate what you just said about him."

The girl tilted her head and Kuroko found himself tugging at Akashi's sleeve so that they would leave and not talk to the girl any longer. Sadly, he was ignored.

"Hmm...I thought so, Seijuro-sama. The commoner has clearly bewitched you and fed you with love potion," the blue-haired teen bristled at the accusation, "but worry not, Seijuro-sama, I shall free you from his clutches."

Before any of them could cast a defensive spell, the girl had flung the contents of the pouch at the way and they found themselves coughing due to accidentally inhaling the sand-like substance. They rubbed their eyes to get rid of the irritation that came from the substance entering their eyes and once they managed it, they opened their eyes to see an amazing sight.

A thread-like golden tendril surrounded Akashi and the place where his heart was before their eyes followed it to see it connected to Kuroko's heart. Akashi reached out a tentative hand to touch the golden thread and was pleasantly surprised when a harmonious feeling coursed through his veins. One look at Kuroko's euphoric face and he knew that his soul mate was feeling the same too. They were brought back to the situation at hand by an eerie sounding chuckle.

"See? There it is. My proof."

"Proof, my ass!" Aomine shouted angrily. "That was the thread that connected them together."

He was ignored by the girl who merely raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Instantaneously, a group of black clad people showed up and restrained the group of teens; anyone that tried to help them was restrained too. She calmly walked towards the couple and held the golden thread. Kuroko and Akashi were assaulted with sensations of wrong, wrong, wrong and it was all they could do not to puke out the contents of their stomach. Smiling wildly, the crazy witch raised her other hand and – to everyone's horror – calmly cut the thread.

...ooOoo...

Screaming.

He was aware that someone was screaming but for the life of him, he could not figure out whether it was him or Akashi that was screaming because it hurts and there was so much painpainpain. It took everything he had to orient himself and it was with sheer willpower that he managed to ignore the gaping chasm that was his heart, the place where the bond, his Seijuro should be.

Akashi seemed to be in the same condition and both of them were dangerously pale and were sweating a lot. They were panting harshly as if they had just done a vigorous exercise and they were seconds away from passing out. Both of them stared wistfully at the limp golden thread that was hanging limply without anything to support it and all the wonderful things that it represented. Of what could have been. A tear escaped his eyes as he mourned his and Akashi's fates.

The lunatic, however, merely clapped her hands together in happiness and giggled, "Now that we're done with that, there's just one more thing left to do."

Akashi snarled at the deranged bint. Was severing their soul link not enough? What damage would need to be inflicted on the both of them before she was satisfied? Watanabe merely blinked and was not fazed at all by the warning from the redhead so she went on, "The last thing to do is to kill the person that gave you the love potion, Seijuro-sama."

Everyone's eyes widened in horror and Akashi renewed his struggles against his captors but a severely weakened teen against two healthy adults was like an ant trying to brave through a storm. The redhead ceased his struggling and silently gathered his magical energy to perform one last spell. No one, absolutely no one, was allowed to harm his Tetsuya while he was still alive.

Watanabe, taking the gesture as Akashi surrendering, gripped the scissors tightly in her hand and raised her hand to stab Kuroko with it. Kuroko closed his eyes and with the sound of metal piercing flesh, everything went black.

...ooOoo...

He woke up to the sounds of beeping and slowly opened his eyes. He saw that he was lying on top of a bed and judging by the sounds outside his room, he was at the hospital. Not long after he woke up, his friends – and to his surprise, his childhood friend was there too – came in bearing gifts and get well cards.

"Yo, Tetsu! Ya' finally awake?"

"Aomine-kun, what –" he took a gulp of water to soothe his parched throat before continuing again, "what happened? Where is Seijuro-kun?"

Murasakibara, Midorima, Aomine, Ogiwara and Kagami looked at each other, seemingly conversing through body languages alone before Midorima took a deep breath and tentatively asked, "Kuroko, what do you remember?"

"I –" Kuroko started to answer but was abruptly cut off by a searing pain in his head.

Kuroko closed his eyes and with the sound of metal piercing flesh, he flinched, expecting pain but when none came, he slowly opened his eyes and to his ultimate horror saw that Akashi had taken the blow for him was currently coughing out blood.

"Seijuro-kun!" He was cut off by the screams from the witch in front of them.

"NO! SEIJURO-SAMA! THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!"

But no one paid her any attention and luckily for everyone and unluckily for the witch and her goons, the police had finally arrived after being called and they were arrested. Though Kuroko could care less about any of that, all of his attention was focused on the dying redhead.

"Seijuro-kun."

Akashi chuckled weakly and cupped his face with one hand, the thumb gently rubbing away the tears. Kuroko tightly grasped at the hand, as if the redhead would disappear soon. "Hey, don't cry, love. You know I hate seeing you cry."

"Why? Why did you sacrifice yourself for me and how did you even manage to get in front of me in the first place? And why is your magic not healing you?" He sobbed. The others were silently crying as well and their hands were clenched tightly in anger for not being able to help them.

"Silly Tetsuya. Isn't it obvious? I sacrificed myself for you because I love you. I love you the most. And –" the explanation was cut off when Akashi coughed blood again and Kuroko pleaded for him to stop talking but his pleas was ignored, "my magic is not healing me because I used the last of it to use a teleportation spell to teleport myself in front of you."

"Seijuro-kun."

Akashi smiled tenderly at him. "Tetsuya, will you promise me something?"

"Anything." Kuroko agreed.

"Please, please don't take your life after this ordeal. I know that it will be hard and that this is a selfish request but I want you to live the way you would have if I were to still be alive. Please wait until it was time for us to meet each other again. Will you promise me this?"

"I –" he hiccupped, "I promise, Seijuro-kun.

Thus, Akashi passed away. On to the life after this.

Kuroko sobbed as he relieved the memories and with it, the blaring reminder of the lost of the connection between them and the immense pain that accompanied the knowledge.

"Kuroko?/Kuro-chin?/Kuroko?/Tetsu?/Kuroko"

Five worried voices were registered by his brain but he could not find it in himself to care right now. He just woke up and was cruelly reminded that his soul mate was no longer alive. That the golden thread between them was severed before Akashi was murdered in front of him.

The teens glanced at each other before coming to a decision.

"Hey, Tetsu. We'll be going home for now, 'kay? If you need us, just call us and we'll come as quickly as possible."

Without waiting for an answer that would not be given, the five teens left without glancing back. They knew that Kuroko would not do anything to break his promise to Akashi.

Kuroko curled up into a ball and cried himself to sleep.

"I will wait, Seijuro-kun."

...ooOoo...

"What is going on?! You said that if I did as was instructed the boy would no longer be a hindrance and that my son would be right where he belonged. Now, he's dead."

The crone cackled maliciously. "Did you? Did you perform the actions yourself? As far as I heard, you ask someone else to do it and I never promised that your son would be safe and sound. You are a fool, Akashi Masaomi, to think that severing a soul bond would have no severe consequences. The gods are angered by your actions and you have paid the price with your son."

"You!"

He was cut off by another cackle. "Did the seer not warn you of the consequences? That your bloodline will end should you choose to continue defy the gods?"

As Akashi Masaomi's eyes widened in realization and regret, the old witch laughed again before continuing.

"You only have yourself to blame, Akashi Masaomi."

And promptly disappeared in a shower of sparks.

...ooOoo...

The days passed by and Kuroko still waited.

His determination never faltered, nor did his desire to live. Kuroko had never been one to give up. More time passed and he matured, along with his friends. He kept his promise to Akashi for many years, eventually going on to a university. He became one of the most eligible bachelors, even through his older years. He was known for his beauty, kindness, and generosity, as well as his odd desire to remain single.

And still he waited.

But one night, something determined that he should wait no longer.

As Kuroko slept on December 20th, the night of his supposed to be 80th birthday, a higher power deemed his time on earth was complete. He never awoke from his slumber.

And as those he left mourned him, Kuroko found himself on a futon. Looking around, he saw that he was inside a traditional Japanese room and most probably, inside a traditional Japanese house as well. Garbed in nothing but a white inner kimono, he realized that his fingers were no longer knotted; his bones was no longer frail, his skin no longer wrinkled, and his body that of a young adult. Unsure of his place or of his purposes being here, again, he waited.

And then, a voice:

"I'm sorry, Tetsuya. I couldn't wait any longer."

The End

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Author's note: Please read and review. And I'm sorry to say that there is a very high chance that I will be extremely busy for the next few months so yes, that means HIATUS. So this is kinda like my apology gift of sorts.

[1] - I'm sorry. I just can't resist adding this. I know they act nothing like the stooges in the movie but meh..

[2] - Yes, this is just like the mirror that Sirius gave to Harry and I only prettified it a little. So credits for this part goes to J.K. Rowling for inventing the awesome Harry Potter series.