notes: something old I found. warnings for AU and character death (?)
The Akashi family consisted of three people—the family's head, his wife and their child. Their family was a very prestigious and conservative one, and so his father imposed onto him only one duty: victory. Under the constant pressure, any ordinary child would have suffered and eventually broken down; however Seijuurou was blessed both with an extraordinary amount of talent, which allowed him to do any task with relative ease, and a supportive and loving mother. His mother was the family's only source of joy and love, between her husband who forgot what leisure or happiness was, and her son, who at his age and under the teachings of his father, didn't know anything about the world yet. The little free time he had been granted, he would spend it with his mother. So it came to be that these little breaks between work were associated with happiness.
That was, until she fell ill.
.
On a spontaneous burst of childish impulse, Seijuurou ran away. The falling rain was heavy and cold, and drenched him to the bones, but they were not enough to drown the despair in his heart. When he finally came to a stop, he realized there was nowhere he could go. So Seijuurou, then a powerless child, sat at the roadside, watching into the nothingness.
"What's the matter?" A voice above him inquired.
Seijuurou flinched, startled at the sudden noise, and looked up. A young man watched over him. He was dressed entirely in black, though his hair was a light blue. The man held his umbrella over them both. Seijuurou did not hear him approach.
"You look sad. Is everything alright?"
His father taught him many things, but talking to a stranger was not one of them. Or maybe it was his eyes—they were the colour of harsh winters and looked older than life itself.
"My mother...is ill. The doctors say there is nothing they can do to help her." Seijuurou murmured, hugging his knees and looking at the concrete.
"My condolences. It must be hard for a child like you. Losing a parent at this age..." The man said. His voice was emotionless, cold. Still, for some reason, Seijuurou knew he meant it despite the apathy in his voice.
"There is this depressing atmosphere in my house. I can't stand it. As if they are waiting for her to..." He confessed, but couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Then, would you like her to stay alive?" For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Seijuurou looked up to the man again.
"Is that possible?"
"Of course. I don't tell lies," The man said. His face was expressionless, but it didn't seem like he was lying.
There must be something wrong, it should be impossible for a mere person to cure something which even the best doctors could not. But when faced with despair, humans often forgot that.
"Please," Seijuurou asked him. The man smiled.
Just then, he heard someone shouting and his eyes shot to the side. It was one of the maids. She ran towards him, umbrella over her head, uncaring to the fact that her clothes were getting dirty. As soon as she reached his side, she tended to him with panicked movements and tried to bring him back home. Seijuurou tried to protest, but she would hear none of it, and he glanced back at the man. He merely waved back at him as she led him away.
.
That evening, during dinner, Seijuurou didn't touch his food. He wondered if the man was serious. His eyes wandered to his father. For a split second, he considered telling him about the enigmatic man, but decided against it. Rather, he felt an inexplicable fear, as if the mystery, and the man, would disappear if he were to tell anyone.
"You haven't touched your food," His father reprimanded him. He took his cutlery, and began eating.
.
The following day was a sunny day. Seijuurou went to the place where they had met and waited, but nothing happened. When he asked nearby people, nobody seemed to remember him. The day after, when it rained again, he went out and waited again.
"We meet again." He was startled by the sudden noise again. Just like the other day, he wore only black again and though his expression was indifferent, it was as if the man knew what he came here for.
Seijuurou thought of his mother. His gentle mother, trapped in a room of white. (And he remembered, he hated that color. It reminded him of hospitals.) His kind mother, her hand frail in his own.
"Please save her. I'll do anything," He asked him, with the naivety of a small boy.
"Anything?" The man asked.
Seijuurou nodded.
"If you are serious…" The man reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
It was a knife.
"I require a blood price." He held it out to him, but Seijuurou merely stared at it. The man smiled.
"Are you hesitating? That's alright. Someone as young as you shouldn't already be dealing with this." His fingers curled around the knife's handle. Seijuurou's hand shot out.
"No, I'll do it," he said and gripped the knife. The man let go of it without resistance. "What do I do now?"
"Make a shallow wound. I only need a small amount of blood of you, I am not asking you to harm yourself." The man instructed and Seijuurou obeyed. He held the knife against his skin.
.
There was an uproar when the maids saw the wound on his hand. An accident, he called it.
.
The lights were out. Seijuurou slipped out of his bed and sneaked into the living room. Glancing around, the room was empty. With quick, silent steps he made a beeline for the door and opened it. Outside, a man was waiting.
"Please pardon the intrusion," the man murmured and entered the house. Seijuurou led him to the room where his mother slept and waited.
"How are you going to save her?" Seijuurou asked.
"It is easy," he said. Then he put a finger to his lips. "However, I want you to keep silent about my existence. I am afraid if someone were to find out about me, trouble would follow. I'm not liked, after all..." His voice trailed off.
Seijuurou nodded.
Then the man bent down and pressed his lips lightly against his mother's briefly. It lasted only for a moment, before he straightened up again.
"That's it?" Seijuurou asked, finding himself a bit disappointed.
The man laughed softly. "If you expected magic then I am sorry, it does not exist the way you might think it does. However, I can assure you she will live for a little longer now."
His job fulfilled, Seijuurou accompanied him to the entrance and bid him goodbye, but not before thanking him for his help. The enigmatic man merely smiled at him. He left, but not before refusing his gratitude.
.
The household was surprised by his mother's sudden recovery.
"It's a miracle," one of the doctors exclaimed. "The chance of a total recovery was very low."
Life returned to normal. Seijuurou still had to work diligently, but he could also spend time with his mother again.
.
Around the time he entered middle school, his mother had a sudden relapse.
"It's her illness again," their doctor explained. "The last time was nothing short of a miracle, however this time, she will not survive."
Remembering the man in his childhood, Seijuurou set out to find him again. However, it was summer, the days bright and clear, and he was certain he would be unable to find him.
.
When a rainy day finally did appear, he went out and waited at the same spot as years ago.
"Your mother again?" He heard someone ask, and when he turned around, it was whom he was waiting for. He also noticed they never introduced each other.
"What's your name?" Seijuurou asked him. He smiled and did not answer. Seijuurou wondered whether that was because he wanted to keep his name secret or…
"I don't think you came here just for my name," The man mused out loud. For some reason, his voice sounded a bit teasing. In one of the books he had read, they had mentioned people like him, who dress all in black. Those were referred to as "Kuroko".
"Well?" Kuroko asked him.
"It's my mother. Please save her again," He pleaded him with him. For a second, Kuroko looked amused, but it disappeared so fast he wasn't sure if he hadn't imagined it.
Kuroko took out the knife again and held it out to him. It was the same one he had used last time. Seijuurou accepted it wordlessly and drove it through his skin. Blood spilt on the concrete. He gave him back the blade. Kuroko smiled.
"Lead the way."
.
Once more, his mother made another miraculous recovery, much to everyone's surprise. In his relief, he failed to notice the whispers and doubting glances of their servants. However, he did notice his mother's expression. He silently wondered why she seemed unsettled.
.
"What's the matter? Your mother is already healthy again, isn't she? Do you need anything else?"
Seijuurou shook his head. "No. I just wanted to see you."
Kuroko seemed surprised. "It's the first time someone wanted to see me without a reason. But I'm sorry, I'm not very talkative."
"It's alright. Would you mind if I sat down here?" Seijuurou asked and they spent the afternoon in silence, only broken by the occasional chatter. That was the first of many meetings that would follow.
.
His observations: Kuroko was taciturn. Passerbys often failed to notice him and still were reluctant to interact with him even after Seijuurou made his presence known. The atmosphere around him was strange, a bit cold even, but he found it rather calming. It was familiar, somehow.
Kuroko refused to tell him how he kept his mother alive just with a kiss. But he explained the meaning of the blood price: that the wound had to be inflicted by the person themselves, as a proof of determination, and that the blood only had symbolic meaning. Prickling the skin to let a drop of blood fall would be enough. What the real price for his service was, he did not tell, but the bitter smile that appeared on his face told him it might be something far more valuable. He also revealed that he could do that indefinitely, keeping a person alive forever. Theoretically, he added. However a person could not keep themselves alive, he made sure to emphasise that part.
.
During the second year of high school, his mother passed away. Her illness had finally taken its toll and she had died while Seijuurou was in Tokyo for a match. He only found out after he had returned to Kyoto. Initially furious that nobody told him (he could have saved her, he thought to himself), the servants told him it was at his father's order and his mother's request—though only his father said it was so his concentration would not waver. The reason behind his mother's request, he never found out. The funeral took place a week afterwards, though the mourning period went on for much longer. Her death also marked the end of their family, for neither of them talked to each other if it wasn't strictly necessary.
.
His father joined her a few years later, shortly after Seijuurou had graduated from college. Dutifully, he handled the funeral arrangements. No tears were shed.
.
In the following years, a sensation swept Japan. News spread of a businessman with incredible success, securing one lucrative offer after another and expanding his company's influence greatly. It was unheard of, for someone to be so successful and soon the name "Akashi Seijuurou" was known throughout Japan.
Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. There were no more news of him and the stock market stagnated. In the blink of an eye, all his assets had been liquidated, including the properties of his prestigious family—priceless properties, which people were dying to own. His companies and subsidiaries were handed down to his vice-presidents.
But Akashi Seijuurou vanished, leaving everything he owned behind.
.
The door creaked open.
"I have been expecting you."
"Hello. Long time no see."
"It's been a while." Kuroko stepped inside. The interior of the apartment was simple. Everything was white and there was barely any furniture, only a table and some chairs. Kuroko took off his shoes and entered the living room. A person was waiting inside.
"There is one thing I would like to know. The day my mother died… one of the servants reported she had seen you on that day. What were you doing then?"
"I am sure you already know what I did."
"I would like to hear it from your own lips. The doctors said she passed away peacefully. There were no injuries on her body."
"That is because I took her life in the same way as I had given it."
Seijuurou's expression wasn't visible.
"I figured as much," he said. He stood up and started walking. "To tell the truth... never once have I forgotten about you. I thought about you a lot. Of your words. And why nobody notices you," By now, they stood face-to-face with each other. Kuroko used to be much taller than him, but now he could hold his gaze at eye-level, Seijuurou absentmindedly thought. He also noted that Kuroko looked exactly the same as in his memory—he did not age at all.
"It is as I said, my presence is unwelcome," Kuroko said again, without missing a beat, but with the same softness to his voice as Seijuurou remembered.
"It's not that they don't, it's that they refuse to. Or rather, they don't want to acknowledge your existence. After all, what humans fear most is death itself," Seijuurou paused at this, and held out his hand. Understanding, Kuroko took his hand. Kuroko's hand was cold.
"I take it you came for me this time? My doctor said I don't have much time to live, and my health has only gotten worse," Seijuurou smiled wryly.
"Yes," Kuroko admitted. "But I believe I should explain, before you misunderstand the reason why I came here today." Seijuurou's hand was holding his own gently. Kuroko liked that warmth. It was something he could never have. He met Seijuurou's gaze.
"You were supposed to die early. Your mother's illness, I believe the doctors haven't told you, but it's hereditary. You suffered from it once, but it seems you don't remember it. After all, you were still so young back then."
Kuroko stopped, giving Seijuurou time to process the information.
"Your mother asked me to save you, in the past, similarly to how you asked me to save her. She wanted you to live a life which wasn't confined by anyone. Neither your father's shadow, nor death's grip. She was willing to give up anything for you," A smile graced his lips. The boy of that rainy afternoon had grown into an fine young man. Kuroko let go of his hand and touched Seijuurou's cheek gingerly. "You are very much like her, and not just in appearance. Today, I came to fulfill that promise," Kuroko stated.
He leaned in and their lips met.