A/N: This is from Queen Keri's account. We're the same person. I'm re-posting it here since I've decided that I'd like to continue writing the story after all. I wrote this back in 2012 and as to avoid confusion, I deleted the original link and will just update in this account instead. I thought it's a waste since I did liked the entire concept, supernatural as it is. Sorry to my previous followers :(

talking to humans;

take a look at my body

look at my hands

there's so much here

that I don't understand

I first met him during my one-hundredth summer—human age: ten. The sun was scorching down the pavement and drying little puddles on the road. It was quite a peculiar way to meet, really. He spotted me sitting on my tree and he talked to me. He noticed me—when no one did. Since then, the two of us spent many more seasons together—without even knowing who he really was.

"Uh, so what's it like there outside with the living?" I often asked him, but he would just smile and tell me that it was nothing special.

"Talking to you like this is way more interesting that dealing with the living." He said sincerely, face absent of emotions.

I remember myself feeling special with those words and I was extremely happy.

What I felt for him when we were still young, I probably wouldn't realize it until I'm an adult.

Talking to people isn't as dangerous as it sounds, his mother often told him. They could remember the way they were touched, they recollect feelings that could even be non-existent. Sometimes, they can see us too.

As a child, Aomine refused to believe in any of this. Conversing with humans doesn't exactly benefit him and besides, he is an obnoxious kid with a huge ego. He's just not the right person for that kind of task so he wouldn't go, try, possibly upset his self and even be acquainted with them.

After all, humans killed his mother. Those humans that his mother loved the most.

"Uhm… excuse me."

Standing under the tree he was sitting at was a boy around his human age, looking up at him with impossibly bright and curious eyes. Aomine could see himself reflect on them, the summer skies behind his back. He would have ignored him and continued to gaze at the setting sun if the said kid didn't have a pair of black little wings fluttering softly on his back, like a tenshi.

He can see me so I guess he's not a human.

"E-excuse me." The said kid called timidly again, jumping lightly now as if he's trying to reach Aomine who's currently sitting on a branch, suspended five meters above the ground.

Still, even if he knew that the boy wasn't a human, he didn't bother to answer him. Soon, the said kid gave up and left. Aomine couldn't sleep well for the rest of the day. The next morning he came back and Aomine wasn't so pleased with this happening. Why was he bothering him?

"Hello?" The other boy tried to talk to him again, this time wearing a different set of clothes, which was unlikely for their kind because creatures like Aomine never changed clothes; there was never a need for it.

Quite human-like, Aomine thought. Ugh, disgusting. He mentally added.

"Can you talk?" The kid asked him blankly. "Can't I be your friend?" Aomine didn't answer, and he did the same for the next thirty minutes but that didn't stop the boy from staying. Even though Aomine looked like he didn't care— which was partly a lie by the way since Aomine couldn't help but see him from the top, the boy just continued to stand there, as though he was waiting for Aomine to do something. The kid finally left after standing there for almost thirty minutes, but not before he said goodbye to Aomine. This cycle continued for a week, with the kid always approaching him on the tree and with Aomine not paying attention.

As fall approached, the leaves of Aomine's tree began to wither.

The next day, it started raining hard and there was no sign that the sky would clear. There was no sign of that kid either— but it's not like Aomine was expecting him to come. Well perhaps he was, but he's not going say that out loud.

"He's late today…" Aomine thought, staring at the road the kid usually takes. "Well it's raining. And he probably got tired already because I am not talking to him. Heck, I didn't even look directly at him. It's been a week and I still don't know what his entire face is like. Only that his eyes and hair are probably blue. "

"Friends, huh?" he muttered.

The kid didn't show up for the rest of the day.

That night, he felt lonely.

Even though I want to put distance between others and myself, I still can't stand being alone— that what ran on his head until his eyelids became heavy with drowsiness.

He was still asleep on the tree branch when he heard someone's voice— loud enough to wake him up.

"Are you sleeping?"

Aomine frowned and got up. He scratched his head and crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the said boy with a perfect display of nuisance written all over his face. And at that moment, he noticed that it wasn't even morning anymore. It was almost night time. "I was. Why are you still here, you wimp."

The kid with light azure hair and pair of round eyes took a step backward because of his angered inquiry. "Oh. So you ARE actually capable of talking" The boy said plainly, eyes big as saucers as he pointed an accusing finger to Aomine—face still expressionless.

Exasperated, Aomine sighed. "Well, just what the hell do you want? It's not safe for a small kid like you to be in here alone. It's getting dark already. See?" He pointed at the setting sun and almost felt shivers ran down his spine when a rush of cold wind blew past them, almost whispering and tickling their young ears— it was a warning. He should climb up higher tonight.

"I know. But you're a kid too." The boy replied, totally unaffected by the said wind, it was as if he couldn't feel it at all. Aomine scowled at this. "I just thought you're weird. Every day you're just sitting in that tree. And you won't talk. I thought you can't see me at all." He replied normally, and tilted his head when he asked: "Why do you even have a tail?"

Aomine almost snickered at the question; of course he has a tail, he's a nekomata's child. A demon cat. Well, of course he's not just any ordinary cat but he isn't exactly a demon either; even Aomine admits that his species' name is misleading. He was raised by a Kyuubi though (nine tailed fox). It was vastly a common knowledge among the likes of him, why couldn't this kid tell? With the blue glow his tail emits, who wouldn't notice?

He's probably new around this place.

Aomine thinks, and thinks again.

"What's your name?" His voice was rather proud even though he had decided to finally talk to this kid and actually intended to show him around the place.

"Huh?" The kid tilted his head, as if that would help him analyze the question that had been asked. He kind of looked like an owl, Aomine thought.

Ah… that makes sense since he have wings.

"Name." He repeated, not really impatient and just curious. It's been awhile since someone had actually approached him without getting intimidated. Aside from being respected but treated like a royalty, being raised by a Kyuubi certainly does have downsides too. Everyone has this perception that he's patience was as short as his nails and that when bored, he wouldn't spare your life and eat you mercilessly. Aomine thought it's rather ridiculous. Sure, he does have a hot temper but it's too much to say that he'll eat them. That's gross. He's a gourmet and wouldn't eat anything that is raw.

"Do you tend to NOT answer when you're asked a question?"

"Oh…" The blue-eyed kid was bewildered. But if you'd ask Aomine, he actually looked glad.

He shyly bowed his head and muttered "K-Kuroko Tetsuya".

Thanks to Aomine's sharp hearing, he was able to catch what Kuroko had murmured. "It's a pleasure for you to meet me then, Tetsu."

"Uh… I guess?" Aomine glared at him. Apparently, Kuroko's response wasn't good enough. He merely sighed.

"You can climb up here." Aomine then suggested, referring to the free space beside him. The branch was rather small but it was just big enough for him and Tetsu to share. Of course, Aomine would be uncomfortable; having someone else to hang around his favorite place was not yet on his wish list. But then… The young cat looked at Kuroko's direction and almost glared when a creepy pair of floating eyeballs sprouted from the ground and was almost close in dragging Kuroko's feet; it probably had the intention of eating him.

Well, Kuroko's wings did look delicious after all.

The boy was completely naïve of the said creature and was just gazing at Aomine, hesitating whether he should climb or not because he's not good with anything that involves the use of strength.

"He's an acquaintance." Aomine's voice was warm but it sent Tetsu shivers, and wondered who he was talking to. He glanced around but saw that it's just the two of them.

"What are yo—" He started but was cut off by Aomine's voice.

"I said he's my acquaintance! Touch him and I'll surely make you regret it! " Aomine's tail glowed madly as he growled at the said pair of eyeballs. It seemed like Tetsu was still oblivious to it and thought that he made Aomine angry yet again.

"Uh okay. I got it. Please don't get mad, I won't touch your tree." He withdrew his hand that's about to touch the said tree and took a step back, making it easier for the creepy monster to get a touch of his feet. Hands suddenly sprouted from it sides.

But in response, Aomine yelled at him with a single-minded panic on his voice. "Oi! Are you stupid? I said climb up here, you wimp! Do you want to die?" Aomine jumped and yanked Tetsu away from the ground. But just when he was in the process of doing so, Tetsu got scared in retaliation so he took another step back and tripped eventually. The monster quickly took the chance to grab a hold of Tetsu but the moment he touched the boy's skin, it burned to ashes by some sort of blue flame, as if Tetsu was guarded by something not visible to anyone. Not even to Aomine's sharp eyes.

"Ow." Tetsu scratched the back of his head as he recovered from his fall.

Stunned, Aomine wasn't able to move for a while and had just stared weirdly at the boy before him.

What was that?

"What are you?" Aomine asked when Tetsu finally got up from the ground. His eyes were met by a pair of azure ones. Tetsu has very light blue eyes, he noted. He then felt a tight wonder swirling on them and got confused. Why was Tetsu looking at him like that when it's Aomine who needed answers?

Aomine didn't like being stared at like that so he withdrew his eyes away from Kuroko's searching pair and met the ground. The ashes from the monster earlier were scattered under them.

"Are you mad?" Tetsu asked after a while, the cold finally seeping its way through his bones. He hated the cold so he always stayed indoors but today, he felt like going out and just happened to see Aomine, still sitting at the tree just like when he first saw him a month ago. At first he didn't pay him any attention, thinking that it was just a kid from the neighborhood but as the days passed, he noticed that Aomine was always sitting on that same spot and that his clothes never changed, as if he never even left, as if that was his home.

"Mad for what?"

"For touching your tree." Kuroko almost stuttered. To be honest, this tanned kid looks very mean. "You yelled 'Touch him and I'll surely make you regret it!' earlier."

"Huh?" Aomine blinked. "Ah I think you got it all wrong, I only—"

"But you're asking me to climb up, how would I climb up there when you don't even want the tree to be touched. That's just weird."

"What?" Aomine's mouth hung open. "You're the strange one in here. I was just trying to save you."

blinked. "From what? "

"From that monster! Didn't you know? It wanted to eat you!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You can't be serious, it's like you didn't see it at all…"

Didn't see it at all? But… it was going after him. That's impossible! Unless…

Now it's Aomine's turn to take a step back, he cringed under Tetsu's stare. "Unless you can't see them."

"See what?" Tetsu blinked "I can see you perfectly well."

"And my tail, can you see my tail?" It was hesitant question.

"So that's really a tail." There was a smile on Kuroko's lips. "I thought it's just a costume."

You've got to be kidding me. "Tetsu, just what are you exactly? You have wings and—"

Tetsu then looked at him funnily, but with that expressionless face of his, it was hard to tell. "Since when did I have wings?"

There was a movement in the air. The tension on Aomine's face was returning as he felt another presence approaching. The color had drained from his face.

He's a human.

"Tetsuya? It's time to go home!"

Kuroko's head turned to the direction of the voice. "Oh, that's my auntie. I have to go—"

But just as he returned his gaze to the boy with tails, he was already gone, as though he wasn't even there in the first place. Kuroko inhaled, and smelled the scent of a cat.

I haven't even asked for his name.

AN: Well, first off this was also posted in AFF under my username _keri, so no, I didn't copy this in case the story sounds familiar :)

Anyhow, Yōkai is a term mostly associated with Japanese folk creatures and ghosts. Recently, I've been really interested on things like this, especially when I watched the anime Natsume Yuujinchou, you can say that the plot of this fic will be greatly influenced by that series.

Actually Aomine's tree cannot be seen by humans. Apparently, Aomine isn't aware yet that his tree was supposed to be invisible to human eyes because it's blessed with a magical barrier that his Kyuubi guardian gave. In our world, it is called a Dracaena aka Dragon Tree, mostly found in Africa but in this fic, I'll simply call it Aomine's tree :)

PS: This chapter will be highly significant on the following updates that I will write. I might even call this a FALSE chapter, a chapter that contains nothing but lies. You'll know why in the future :3

Reviews please :D