I've always been interested in people with blindness and, for some reason, I really like to philosophize, so one day I just thought I should try writing a Kuroko no Basket AU where that is included. The whole idea just randomly came to me. I hope you'll enjoy reading this!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket nor its characters, only the plot idea.
Warning: Unbeta-ed, possible grammar and spelling errors, limited vocabulary, possible mistakes about certain things from the lack of my knowledge, sowwy :
~Chapter I~
~A New Patient~
The scenery here was beautiful. It had to be after all. The Panjī Sanitarium was one of the most gorgeous rehabilitation centers around the country. The massive building itself was as heartwarming as it could be, even though the structure was more modern rather than the usual traditional Japanese style. Its walls portrayed a gentle color of light cerulean, while each of the arch form windows had thin rich purple silk curtains covering them, at night mostly. Its navy blue roof was shed-styled and went along perfectly with the rest of the colors. The rather sinuous pathway from the main gate to the front entrance was made out of polished stones of different variety of gray shades and the grass around it was maintained perfectly. Even if the building was more modern, it's giant garden was mostly Japanese styled. It had a pond, a small wooden bridge over it, handmade hills from rocks with moss, cherries and so on. There was also a beautiful flower garden a bit further away, full of all kinds of colorful plants, just waiting to be admired. This specific sanitarium was, after all, one of the most prestigious ones.
This was the place Kuroko Tetsuya chose to work in after he graduated and finished the necessary studies. At first he wished to become a kindergarten teacher, but life took a different turn and the young adult had to chose another direction, which was nursing. He didn't regret it though, not one bit, since he always enjoyed helping others and because of personal reasons. But of course, that was only one thing, another one was how exactly did Kuroko end up in such a prestigious place. Well, that was, once again, a play of life and its events. It so happened that one of his professors used to work there and, since this specific bluenet was one of his favorite and best students, he used his associations within the sanitarium to get the young adult a work place. And so in the end Kuroko got pretty well off, since he enjoyed what he did and his salary was decent enough as well.
The Panjī Sanitarium offered all sorts of treatments for different kind of problems and it could also be used as a regular relaxation center as well, to calm down one's nerves as they say it. Of course, such luxury wasn't affordable to just anyone, since, as mentioned before, this specific place was one of the best. Every patient had a separate room and, on special occasions, an individual caretaker. Usually that only happened to those with special needs or disabilities, which wasn't a rare occasion at this sanitarium. Still, Kuroko Tetsuya hadn't had such a patient in all his work time here, because more experienced nurses were usually appointed to such people. That's why the young adult was surprised when one day most of his patients under his care were taken away from him and a file with a single individual was presented to him.
''We think you're finally ready to take care of a patient with special needs,'' Kuroko's superior spoke as the pair were slowly walking through the almost empty hallway. It was still a very early morning, so most of the patients were still asleep. Because of that, the older man's footsteps produced a light echo, which was oddly comforting for the younger male. He was closely listening to his superior's talk, since he could only catch a small glimpse of his new patient's file. ''As you may already know, his name is Akashi Seijuurou, age twenty two. He's suffering from difficult epilepsy, that's why it's crucial he takes his medicine every day.''
Kuroko only nodded at that information. He has dealt with people with this kind of disease, so he wasn't all that anxious about it. By now the pair had already reached their destination, but the older man still had one last thing to mention.
''Akashi Seijuurou is completely blind in both eyes from birth, and that's why he requires special care. You'll be able to read more about him later, but for now this should suffice.''
Once again the bluenet expressed no visible emotion, only nodded at that. Sure, that meant that his new patient will need that much more attention and care, but Kuroko didn't mind one bit. In fact, he was rather excited to have such a patient, since it'll be completely new experience for him. Still, this man was born blind, Kuroko couldn't have any idea how life must have been for him.
They finally stopped in front of the room 415. The older male didn't wait around and left his subordinate on his own immediately afterwards, giving him his good luck. Kuroko placed his hand on the handle and pondered a bit. He felt a bit nervous about meeting his new patient just how he did every time, but now was not the time for that. After taking a deep breath, the bluenet softly knocked on the wooden door and pressed the handle, thus finally entering the room.
The first thing that caught Kuroko's eyes was, of course, a man in his early twenties near the wardrobe neatly taking clothes out of his luggage bag and placing them inside the wooden furniture. But it wasn't just simply that that the bluenet first noticed. It was probably the most striking appearance feature of this man – his vivid red and a bit wild hair, that basically screamed attention. It was impossible to not notice such a color. As Kuroko's eyes adjusted, he began taking in more details about his new patient. The man was certainly rich, since his attire seemed extremely expensive. At the moment he was wearing black elegant and slightly tight-fitting pants with sleek dark shoes and a white, almost transparent shirt underneath a rich crimson-colored vest. If one had an observant eye, they would notice an obviously expensive modern watch on his right wrist. Kuroko had heard of these before, they were that kind that tells the time audibly used by blind people. Overall the man was certainly well dressed, which indicated he came from a wealthy family.
''Hello, Akashi-san,'' Kuroko finally spoke as he entered the room further. His patient had already stopped his actions as soon as the knocks were heard. ''My name is Kuroko Tetsuya and I'll be taking care of you while you are here.''
The said man turned a bit to the other and now Kuroko could clearly see his face. A single thought immediately shot through his mind as soon as he saw all of him.
Beautiful.
Indeed, Akashi was gorgeous for a man. Every single feature looked perfect on him. Starting with his pale complexion and ending with his striking hair, whose bangs lightly fell on top of of his eyes. And Kuroko has never before seen such eyes as Akashi's. True, they were colorless and empty, but somehow still beautiful. Only one thing seemed to ruin that perfect image of this young adult. That was the small frown that slowly crept onto his lightly pink lips. For some reason Akashi seemed displeased.
''Pleasure,'' the man answered indifferently with a small nod, though slight coldness radiated from his voice.
''Do you need any help, Akashi-san?'' Kuroko asked as he eyed the luggage his blind patient had with him.
''No, I'm fine,'' the other once again spoke with the same tone and continued placing his belongings into the wardrobe.
Kuroko wanted to re-ask again, but thought against it. Something obviously bothered the redhead and for now the bluenet decided to no pry.
''Breakfast will be in an hour, I'll come to pick you up by then, okay?'' the smaller male informed the other and received only a nod in response. ''After that I'll brief you of your assigned treatment here, which will start tomorrow.''
Not hearing anything as an answer, Kuroko pondered a bit in one place before he turned around and walked out of the room. He sure got a tough nut to crack this time. But the bluenet just couldn't figure out what tipped the other off. Something obviously bothered him, but Kuroko couldn't understand what exactly. Did he say something wrong? He didn't think so, but still...
Ah, the caretaker still needed to check his new patient's full profile and take care of his schedule. That part was a bit trickier though, since he needed to print the information in Braille's writing. First, of course, he needed to actually compose the whole schedule, which was a lot of work by itself. Usually each of the patients' treatment information is attached to their main files and all the caretakers needed to do was simply print it out. But it wasn't as easy with blind guests. The special printer for Braille's writing was also on the other side of the building, so that only added things-to-do up.
But first, Kuroko had to go and wake his other patient up. He definitely was not a morning person, so it required a lot of time for the other to finally get ready and head to dining hall, so the bluenet usually stirred him up about half an hour before the deadline. With that thought in mind, the petite caretaker made his next destination room 787.
Before entering the room, Kuroko, as always, knocked first, even though the chances of the one inside being awake were quite low. That was correct in the end as the bluenet opened the door and noticed the other male sleeping soundlessly.
"Kise-kun," Kuroko spoke a bit softly as he gently shook the sleeping male. "It's already morning, it's time to wake up."
The other grunted unhappily and pulled the covers up a bit, refusing to comply.
"Five more minutes," he mumbled half-asleep, still putting no efforts in waking up.
"You always say that, Kise-kun," the bluenet sighed. "They may have onion gratin soup today you know, and if you're late you won't get any."
The blonde's ears perked up at that and he cracked open one of his eyes, casting an unfocused yet suspicious glance at the other.
"How do I know you're not lying, Kurokocchi?" the half-awake man managed to ask.
"I heard so from one of the staff members," the caretaker shrugged. "They could have been lying though, I can't know that." Seeing as how the other was still in doubt, Kuroko sighed and continued. "If they don't have onion gratin soup, I'll take you out for some when the next city hours come as compensation for getting your hopes up, okay?"
Kise opened both of his eyes at that, which now shone with anticipation and hope. He immediately nodded at the other's proposal and Kuroko knew that if he wasn't so sleepy the blonde would have probably jumped from excitement, since his caretaker was rarely this generous. Sure, they went out into the city quite frequently when it was possible, since Kise both needed the exercise and he was too energetic to stay put all the time, but Kuroko always followed the designed route and they didn't usually stray from their path all that much, no matter how much Kise wanted. So it was one-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the blonde and he couldn't just pass it. Besides, it was with Kuroko, his favorite caretaker.
''But either way you have to start getting ready. I'll come check in fifteen minutes and by then you should be fully prepared, understand?'' Kuroko asked one more time before slowly beginning to make his way back to the door.''
''Fifteen? Usually it was twenty,'' Kise asked upset and a bit confused, since it meant he wouldn't be getting any more of his precious sleep. Those five minutes were everything to him.
''I have a new patient, who is disabled, so I'll need to escort him to the dining hall from now on and I need enough time for that,'' the bluenet looked over his shoulder at the other and explained. ''If you want your twenty minutes of preparation that much, I'll wake you up five minutes earlier from now, how does that sound?''
''But I'll still get less time for sleep!'' the blonde whined as he finally sat up. How he managed to act in this way from the early morning and being just woken up was beyond Kuroko. ''But I guess if I have twenty minutes...''
''Exactly, and you won't even notice,'' the caretaker nodded and finally opened the door. ''I'll be going now, but I'll come back in fifteen minutes. If you won't be ready by then, you won't be getting any soup from anywhere.''
Kise probably wanted to complain about that, but Kuroko already exited the room and closed the door after him. It was exhausting having to deal with such a person from the early morning, but the tealnet couldn't do anything about it. It wasn't as if Kise was a bad person or anything, he just managed to get annoying really fast. Other than that it was even a bit refreshing to have someone as optimistic and energetic as this certain blonde.
Thinking that he certainly didn't have enough time to prepare Akashi's schedule, Kuroko figured he could at least read a bit more about his new patient. Something about that man intrigued the caretaker. Maybe it was his appearance or his aura, or maybe his attitude. Sure, it was a bit early to say that, but Kuroko liked observing other people and noticing the smallest details, so he immediately caught that something was troubling the redhead, or rather bothering. Of course, knowing from experience, Kuroko couldn't advance too quickly. It was obvious Akashi had his guard up and was probably extremely cautions, so it would take time to break down those defences. For now all the tealnet could do was gather more information on him.
Soon after it was already time for Kuroko to go and check on Kise and afterwards head to his new patient's room. The caretaker didn't lie when he said that they may have onion gratin soup today, since he honestly heard someone talking about it. It would be strange if they did though, since usually there wasn't anything too extravagant served, especially for breakfast. Maybe it was for a special occasion or something. Kuroko was still quite new here, so he couldn't know everything that happened in this place.
After the caretaker finally reached the first room, he knocked gently before opening the door.
''Are you ready, Kise-kun?'' the tealnet asked as he entered.
''Yes I am, Kurokocchi!'' Kise exclaimed joyfully and jumped from one of the chairs. He was indeed dressed up and prepared to leave for breakfast. It seemed that the blonde even had some time to read a magazine while waiting for Kuroko.
''That's good then,'' the caretaker nodded, while inwardly he felt a bit relieved. At least one thing was off of his list. ''You can start heading to the dining hall then.''
Before Kuroko could once again leave, Kise's voice stopped him.
''Oh, can I come with you to meet your new patient?'' he asked excitedly. ''I can keep both of you company! You said he was disabled, right? Maybe I could help somehow?''
The smaller male held in a sigh. Of course the blonde would have suggested that. Like mentioned before, Kise was not a bad person, but sometimes he could really get too annoying and energetic, especially in the morning somehow. But not out of bad will of course.
''I appreciate the offer, Kise-kun, but there's on need,'' Kuroko answered patiently. ''You should take care of yourself first, which means getting down for breakfast. I can handle everything else by myself, don't worry,'' he ended with a small smile. Kise only wanted to help after all, but Kuroko honestly didn't need it right now. The blonde was, after all, a patient and a guest at this facility.
''If you say so, Kurokocchi,'' Kise sighed, obviously upset.
''Glad you understand.''
With that the caretaker took his leave. It was a bit of a long walk from this room to Akashi, so he needed to fasten up his pace a bit. It wouldn't be good if the redhead was late on his first day.
After a few short minutes Kuroko finally reached his destination. After knocking a few times, he cautiously opened the door and walked a bit in. The redhead inside was sitting comfortably on his bed and seemingly reading a book. At least that's what Kuroko thought it was. Still, the pace Akashi's fingers went across the uneven pages was incredible. That was probably the result of many years of practice.
''Are you ready to go, Akashi-san?'' Kuroko asked a bit carefully as he advanced further into the room.
The only response he got was a nod after the redhead had closed his book. Kuroko tried to catch the name of it's title, but it was quickly put away.
After that Akashi stood up and took his white cane, which was leaning against the cabinet next to the bed. With that the redhead made his way to his new caretaker, who noted that the other was wearing an impassive expression. For some reason that made the tealnet feel a bit uneasy.
''Will you need any help?'' Kuroko asked cautiously and trying to sound a bit more gentle. He had to try a careful approach with his man after all.
''No,'' he answered firmly, though a tint of coldness could have been heard in his voice. A small frown appeared on his lips as he continued. ''Your... voice will be enough to help me navigate.''
''Okay then,'' the caretaker nodded, even if the other couldn't see it. ''Then, please stay close to me.''
And with that they walked out of the room. After closing the door, Akashi took out the keys from his pocket and, after fumbling with the lock a bit, he managed to lock it.
"This way then," Kuroko spoke and slowly began making his way down the corridor with Akashi right besides him. From what the redhead told him, the tealnet understood that he should talk about something, but it wasn't as easy as it looked. Kuroko was not long-conversation-material to begin with, and obviously Akashi didn't particularly like the idea as well. How was any conversation supposed to happen when neither wanted to talk? Still, Kuroko was a caretaker, so he had to do everything in his power to help his patients.
After a few moments of silence the tealnet finally spoke, trying his best in concealing his anxiousness and succeeding, much to the other's secret displease.
"If I may ask, what do you do for a living Akashi-san?"
The redhead slightly cocked his head to caretaker's side before replaying impassively.
"Isn't that mentioned in my file?"
"I didn't get to that part yet. Besides, I wanted to hear it from you."
"I see," Akashi mumbled and turned back his head forward. "After I finish my treatment here, I will inherit my father's company. But I do not wish to discuss about my life any further."
Kuroko visibly flinched at the coldness of his tone. It was certainly not easy and enjoyable talking to this redhead. And the tealnet was beginning to feel a bit annoyed at that behavior. Akashi acted like a true rich person, who, for some reason, disliked Kuroko from the very start.
"If you say so," Kuroko answered in the same indifferent tone. There were two reasons behind that actually. ''We reached the lift.''
As the tealnet said that, both of them stopped in front of the metal doors and Kuroko pressed its button. They waited a bit in silence before the caretaker decided to break it.
"Then let's talk about something else. What book were you reading back there?"
"'A Heart in the Woods'," came Akashi's nonchalant reply. At that time the lift arrived and the pair walked inside it.
"Ah, the one with the troubled young author?" the tealnet suddenly took genuine interest in the topic, and that was slightly audible in his voice. Akashi only nodded, though he was a bit surprised, even if he chose not to show it. ''I've read that book multiple times, it was very enjoyable,'' the smaller male continued. Just this once he let a tiny bit of emotion show. He really did like that particular story. ''Do you find it interesting?''
''I wouldn't be reading it if I didn't.''
''I guess so,'' Kuroko mumbled. A light chuckle had almost escaped his lips, but the chilly tone the other used made it fade away in his throat. Good thing they finally arrived and could get out of the lift. The dining hall was already in sight and the caretaker will be able to get out of this awkward situation for just a bit.
''We're almost there,'' he announced a bit blankly. The smell from the kitchen already reached the pair, which was a clear indicator to Akashi that what Kuroko said was in fact true.
Not long after the two finally walked into the dining area, which was already almost full with other patients. Every one of them had an assigned seat though, so it was never a problem to find a place. That reminded Kuroko that he didn't check Akashi's number before coming here. Shoot. The caretaker cursed in his mind and bit his lip in frustration. How could he forget to check such an important detail? He was messing up already and it's only the first day.
Noting that they had stopped for a while now, Akashi quickly assumed what the situation was and clapped his tongue in irritation.
''You don't know where to go, do you,'' he stated as if it was a fact. Annoyance was audible in his voice, even though he tried to keep his tone impassive.
''I-'' Kuroko started, but he was quickly interrupted by a loud voice, which belonged to a certain blonde.
''Hey, Kurokocchi!'' Kise exclaimed joyfully as he jogged over to the pair, earning a few annoyed glances from the other patients.
''Kise-kun, you're too loud,'' the tealnet answered with a sigh. ''What are you doing here anyway? You should get back to your seat.''
''Well I noticed Kurokocchi with someone new and wanted to come and say 'hi','' the blonde explained with cheerfulness evident in his voice. With that he redirected his look to the interested redhead. ''You must be Kurokocchi's new patient! I'm Kise Ryouta, nice to meet you!''
''Likewise, Kise-kun.'' the other nodded at him with a small smile on his face. His voice was now polite and warm. ''My name is Akashi Seijuurou.''
Kuroko stared at the redhead with a disbelieving look. The man took a complete 180 turn from how he was acting before in a matter of moments. Did Akashi really dislike his new caretaker that much? Or was it Kise who caused this change?
''Ah, I just remembered, Haizaki-kun is absent from breakfast today, so maybe you'd want to join me in his place?'' Kise suddenly asked hopefully.
''I'd like that,'' Akashi answered with a small smile before Kuroko even got a chance to open his mouth. Really, why was the redhead acting so differently now?
''But that's against the rules... Akashi-san has to sit in his own place,'' the tealnet frowned a bit. Sure, he didn't know where exactly was that place, but he could easily find out.
''Come on, Kurokocchi,'' Kise whined and looked at his caretaker with pleading eyes. ''Just for today~ If you don't tell anyone it will be okay.''
The tealnet only sighed at that. Really, he knew how persistent the blonde could get and it would be a bother to deal with him afterwards as well. Sure, he would get at the very least scolded if anyone found out he let a violation of rules to happen, but if no one did...
''Fine,'' Kuroko mumbled and Kise exclaimed a victorious 'Yush!'. ''But you have to turn down the volume of your voice, Kise-kun. I'm still accompanying you to the table and staying by Akashi-san's side though.''
''Of course,'' the blonde grinned while redhead didn't look as pleased. ''Let's go then!''
With that the trio made their way Kise's table. There Akashi took the vacant seat next to Kise while Kuroko just stood behind them. Soon the food was served and, what do you know, there was in fact onion gratin soup along with some toast for the ones without any stomach problems today. The blonde shone with glee at that and didn't waste any time before saying his thank-you and digging in.
Kuroko watched how the two quickly began lightly chatting among themselves as they ate. Kise could very easily indulge in conversation with just about anyone because of his bubbly personality. He was always so cheerful and carefree, like a small sun on its own. But Kuroko never thought someone like Akashi would seem to actually enjoy talking to the blonde. With the tealnet he acted coldly and distantly, clearly showing that he didn't wish to speak to him, but with Kise was a whole other story. He even chuckled occasionally at what the other sometimes said. Why couldn't he act this way around Kuroko too? It would be much easier for the caretaker. However, he couldn't figure which one of these behaviors was the truthful one.
Halfway through his meal Akashi suddenly stopped and sighed, closing his eyes. Before Kuroko could ask what's wrong, the redhead spoke.
''Is there any salt available here?'' his tone seemed a bit forced and even frustrated. One would assume he didn't like asking other people for help. Well, Kuroko had already figured that much. It was obvious the man was very prideful despite his disability.
Kuroko was about to reach for the salt cellar on the table, but Kise quickly beat him to it, grabbing the salt and placing it in front of Akashi with a soft thud.
''There you go, Akashicchi!'' he said with a smile.
''-cchi?'' the redhead repeated a bit confused.
''I add that to the names of people I respect.'' Kise explained somewhat sheepishly.
''My, I sure earned your respect quickly,'' Akashi chuckled amused as he took the salt and poured a bit into his soup. ''Thank you for the salt by the way.''
''Well, you're a very nice and interesting person, so why wouldn't I? Besides, your Kurokocchi's new patient,'' the blonde beamed at the other, even if he couldn't see it and continued his soup. ''And no problem.''
''I see, well I'm flattered,'' Akashi answered with a small smile.
Now, Kuroko didn't know how to feel about this. Was he relieved that his two patients got along or frustrated that Kise managed to get on Akashi's good side and vice versa so quickly? It took some time for the tealnet to be accepted and liked by Kise after all, and he doesn't have the smallest clue how much time it would take in Akashi's case. If that would ever happen at all.
Soon after that, the pair finished their meals and were ready to head back. Luckily no one found it suspicious that Akashi wasn't in his place and they all could safely walk out. Since the main corridor was mainly used by everyone, Kise accompanied them until the elevator, still chatting all the way. The one that was responding was Akashi, Kuroko remained silent like he did in the dining hall. He got a feeling the redhead didn't want him to join in, so he didn't.
The floor Akashi was staying on was lower than Kise's, so he and Kuroko exited the elevator before the blonde, biding their goodbyes, well, Akashi at least. However, just as the metal doors closed and Kise continued ascending, leaving the pair alone, the redhead's expression immediately changed into an impassive one. Kuroko felt a bit uneasy at that, but without commenting anything he began slowly walking towards his patient's room, Akashi following him closely.
They walked like that in silence for a bit, the only audible things being Akashi's footsteps echoing through the hallway and his white cane hitting the ground occasionally. They were already quite near their destination when finally Akashi's low mutter disrupted the silence.
''Is it necessary for you to wear rubber shoes?''
Kuroko looked at the other a bit confused, but answered nonetheless.
''That's a part of the clothing code for caretakers here. Why?''
The redhead murmured something under his breath too quiet for Kuroko to hear. It wasn't probably meant for him anyway, but the tealnet for some reason wished to know what it was anyway.
Finally they reached Akashi's room. After he unlocked it, the silent pair walked inside it and Kuroko closed the door behind them. Somehow he felt out of place here. Like he was unwanted. It was so strange though. He hadn't know Akashi for more than a few hours and he already felt like that. How was that even possible? How can a single person have such a strong effect in such a small amount of time?
Kuroko watched as the redhead walked over to the cabinet besides his bed and took out a small device from one of it's drawers. That turned out to be some sort of message receiver. At least that's what the caretaker assumed. He couldn't make out anything what it was saying after all, since the speed was incredible. Did people with blindness could really understand speech in such a speed? If Akashi could, that must have been the case.
Kuroko still couldn't leave for a few reasons. First, he needed to brief his patient about the treatment schedule, even if he didn't have a copy with himself right now. So the tealnet slowly began making his way to Akashi, who was now getting comfortable on his bed. The redhead leaned back against the wall and brought one knee so his chest. After that he took the book that was laying on top of the cabinet and opened the part where he left off.
Kuroko pondered for a moment before taking a seat on a chair next to the bed. It felt like the other was trying to ignore him, pretend he's not even there, but the caretaker still had his job to do and couldn't think about it too much.
''Akashi-san, I'll now brief you on your arranged treatment here, okay? Later I'll give you the full information on paper.''
He only got silence in response. The patient continued reading without any clear indication of listening. Kuroko could only hope that he did as the tealnet began informing him about his schedule here. Akashi will be staying at this place for two months, but the treatment won't change much. All people with cases of epilepsy were treated similarly and Kuroko had learnt most of it by heart, even though this kind of patients were quite rare. Epilepsy was an incurable disease, so most didn't see the meaning of going through therapy. For most people consuming medicine was enough to prevent any seizure attacks. But as Kuroko learnt from Akashi's file, that didn't seem to be the case for him. Even if he did take medicine regularly, the epilepsy he was suffering from was unusually strong and the regular medications didn't work that well. Akashi was sent here after an incredibly powerful seizure attack when his medicine failed to work yet again. The doctors then prescribed new kind of medication for him, but since it's very new and quite rare, the exact effects of it are still rather unknown. So Akashi will be taking therapy here that should help him even in the slightest and at the same time he'll be observed while taking that new medicine. If anything happens, help will be immediate. That's also one of the reasons besides the blindness why Kuroko has to stay by Akashi's side most of the time.
''Are you listening, Akashi-san?'' the caretaker suddenly asked when he was near the end. He didn't want to talk pointlessly and Akashi was still just reading his book.
''I am,'' the redhead answered. Even if his expression was still impassive, his voice radiated coldness, which send shivers down the other's spine. ''Even if I'd prefer you'd spare me your talk and just bring me the actual schedule.''
Truth be told, Akashi's words stung a little. Kuroko didn't understand why the other was so... hostile towards him. Did he do something wrong? What was so displeasing about him?
''Fine then, I'll stop,'' the tealnet murmured. It was obvious he was unwanted here, but Kuroko couldn't leave just like that. If there was a problem, it had to be dealt with as soon as possible. ''Would you mind if I stayed here?''
''I would actually,'' Akashi simply answered. ''Don't you have any other free patients?''
''The only one besides you is Kise-kun, and he's in therapy now.''
''That's unfortunate then. But I do not wish for you to be here either.''
''Why?''
''Excuse me?''
''Why would you mind?'' Kuroko re-asked again. ''I can see that something is bothering you Akashi-san and I wish to know what. Did I do or say something wrong? If there's anything I can do to fix it, I will.''
A bitter laugh escaped Akashi's lips at that. He closed his book and placed it next to him on the cabinet before speaking.
''Oh? So you're interested?'' the redhead's tone wasn't impassive anymore. It had a bitter taste to it now and sounded almost resentful. ''Is that so. Well, if you wish for it so much, I'll enlighten you.''
The small forced smile that was visible on his lips before dropped as Akashi continued speaking.
''As you are fully aware, I've been born blind. I've been seeing nothing but darkness from the moment I opened my eyes. I've never known any color and haven't seen any emotion. I can't know what a person is feeling or thinking if he's silent. I couldn't stay in oblivion forever, could I? So, like any other person without sight, I learnt to hear emotions and thoughts in one's voice. That's the only thing for me that separates others from mere machines. That's why I enjoy communicating with people who express their feelings freely through their voice, even if they're irritating. It feels like it could at least partly compensate my lack of sight. Hearing is absolutely everything to me and I wish to know what other people are thinking without having to look at them. So, you want to know why I started disliking you from the very moment you spoke?'' Akashi sounded so bitter as he said that last sentence. ''It's because I couldn't hear anything. And I detest that.''
For some odd reason I just love those fanfics where Akashi dislikes or even hates Kuroko at first, but with time and for certain reasons that changes, forgive me for my taste xD Also, I call people staying there 'patients' because I honestly don't know how to refer to them correctly. This is not a hospital though, so don't mix it up xD
I'd really like to hear your opinion on this, I'd appreciate it very much. I don't exactly know how long this story will take, but I'll try my best with it. Thank you for reading!