Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. I will inform you if there are any OC's which is unlikely, since the series has such a large cast to play with.
Warning: This is not beta'd, so do expect mistakes here and there.
00; amaranth
my life to you | to you my life
"Sei-kun, are you sure this is a good idea? Don't you think we're too young for something this big?" the pale boy asked as he held onto the end of his cousin's sleeve as the taller of the two led them down the dark staircase. One misstep and the two would be tumbling down the spiral stone staircase which quickly insured at least a week's worth of bruises. For a quick moment, the pale boy looked behind him before shrugging the uncomfortable feeling off.
The redhead turned around and patted his cousin's head, ruffling the light blue locks a bit, before taking his cousin's hand into his own, squeezing it in reassurance. "Tetsuya, when have I ever been wrong?" he questioned with a smug tone. The boy chuckled to himself as he turned back around. His attention was soon focused on the task at hand, squinting every now and then as the candle in his hand and the occasional moonlight were his only sources of light at the moment.
The boy named Tetsuya mumbled, "Never," to himself as he followed his cousin down the staircase. Reluctantly sighing to himself, he wondered where his cousin got his confidence from. Was it because he was a prince or was it something he was born with? The pale boy decided to go with the latter, because it seemed like no matter what his cousin was, he would still ooze the same confidence he had now. Sometime, he wished his cousin would share some of that confidence with him.
"Tetsuya, hurry," urged the redhead as he tugged on his cousin's hand. "I think I can see the door in front of us. We shouldn't keep the others waiting for so long."
"I still think it's a bad idea to do this when we're still too young," the shorter of the two muttered to himself. Nonetheless, he did not stop his cousin. There was no stopping the redhead once he wanted something.
The moment the wooden door was creaked open, all the heads in the room turned toward the source of the sound. Cautiously, they eyed the guests who entered the room with their hands hovering over their respective weapons. Even though they were not even of age to wield weapons, they were not oblivious to the fact that potential enemies could attack them at any moment. It was best to have at least a dagger on their body or some poisonous toxin.
"I didn't expect such an aggressive welcoming, but then again I wouldn't have chosen you if you hadn't," the redhead commented as he walked into the room with a smirk.
The children in the room sighed in relief as their hands moved away from their weapons.
A certain blonde quickly scrambled out of his seat and onto his feet, rushing over to where the door was located and wanting to hug the shorter of the two. "Kurokocchi!" he shouted but he stopped running when the redhead shot him a glare to zip his lips. "Ahaha… Hi, Akashicchi." The blonde awkwardly scratched the back of his neck as the redhead walked by him.
Akashi merely sighed at the idiotic nickname as he shoved his cousin into the blond before walking toward the circle in the middle of the room. He rolled his eyes when he glanced back. It was somewhat pathetic to see his cousin trying to pry the eager blond off of him. "Sometimes, I wonder exactly why I bother to hand around you people," he muttered.
"Akashi-kun, we're all here." A small girl got up from her cushion and walked over to the redhead, taking a hold of his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "We made sure no one was following us."
Akashi nodded in response before patting the girl on the head. "That's good to hear, Satsuki." He moved past her and took the seat located closest to the door.
The small girl squeaked in surprise before moving back to her seat with a small smile on her face. Once she settled in her seat, the tanned boy beside her gave her look which immediately wiped off the smile off the girl's face. "Why are you making such a disgusting face, Dai-chan?"
The boy gave a confused look before sneering at her. "Because I am looking at something disgusting," he answered.
The girl's face immediately reddened before punching her childhood friend in the arm. Seeing how he ended up on the floor, grabbing his arm in pain, the girl crossed her arms and nodded in satisfaction. "Stupid Dai-chan."
The boy on her other side sighed as he pushed his glasses up, muttering something about mixing with idiots. He felt a tap on his shoulder, making him turn and sighed once more as he pushed the bowl of snacks toward the purple-haired child. "Murasakibara, please do not leave a mess behind like last time. It took awhile to get rid of all the bugs," the child said.
Murasakibara looked up and nodded at the green-haired child. "I understand, Mido-chin." The boy scooped up some snacks from the bowl before placing them into his mouth. "But I still can't believe Mine-chin is stupid enough to tease Momo-chin like that," he commented.
The green-haired child nodded in agreement. "I still think Aomine likes Momoi."
The tanned boy instantly got up on his feet in embarrassment. "Huh? Is there something wrong with your head, Midorima? How could someone like me like someone like her?" He pointed a finger at the girl, not seeing the furious expression on the girl.
"Aomine-kun, please don't insult Momoi-san any further. Even if we're friends, I will not take it kindly if anyone insults my friends even if it's you."
Aomine turned to the side and slightly flinched at the sight of ice blue eyes glaring at him. "Fine… Just stop glaring. It's freaking me out." The tanned boy settled back into his seat, muttering a quiet apology to his friend.
Momoi smiled in response and looked to the pale boy in admiration. "Thank you, Tetsu-kun."
The pale boy shook his head. "It's no problem. Aomine-kun was in the wrong."
"Eh? Aominecchi was in the wrong?" The blond was still attached to the pale boy's arm despite the latter still trying to pry him off.
"Yes, Kise-kun," the boy gave up trying to detach himself from the blond. Instead, he turned his attention to the only girl in the room. "I think Momoi-san is very pretty and will be even prettier in the future."
Despite his deadpanned expression, Momoi squealed with glee in her seat, causing the boys sitting next to her to squirm in irritation.
Akashi chuckled to himself as he thought how his cousin would fare in the future, especially with women. Seeing how all the commotion calmed down, Akashi took control of the situation. "Ryouta, release my cousin so we can get started," he ordered." We're wasting time."
The blond let out a whine but eventually released the boy in his hold.
Akashi patted the cushion to his right, motioning to his cousin to sit next to him. With his cousin sitting comfortably next to him and Kise settling into his spot in the circle, Akashi looked at each of his friends before turning around and grabbing a chalice that was situated on the chest behind him. He placed the cup in front of him and looked to his cousin, who gave him a bottle of wine.
What were a couple of kids doing with a bottle of wine in the middle of the night?
Akashi poured the colored wine into the chalice before sealing the bottle with a cork. "Okay, if there's anyone who wants to back out now, I will not hold it against you." A pair of crimson eyes darted from one person to another as a small smile spread on his face when no one moved. "Okay, let's begin our oath."
It was the perfect time for an oath to take place. The moon was their only witness as its light illuminated the dark room, giving the situation a mystical feel. The room was once used for a place for the king to gather his knights and make them swear his life to them. Now, the room was being used for the future heir to gather his knights and make an oath to them.
"I, Akashi Seijirou, swear to every person who drinks from this cup on this very night that I will never let any one of you die. And if any one happens to die, it will be my hand and my hand only. Natural death will be the only exception when we're all old and rusted." Looking at his friends, Akashi raised the cup above his head and then brought it down to his lips, taking a sip of the wine. The bitter taste evaded his taste buds but he casted the thought away as he passed the cup to his cousin.
One by one, each one of them drank from the cup. Some were rather amused to their friends' reaction when they drank from the cup.
None of them were particularly bothered by the fact that it would be Akashi that would slay them. Even if the boy did not admit it, he was rather protective of them, no, to be more precise, he was rather possessive of them within reasonable terms. He did not like sharing unless he had to. The only thought that occurred to them was that the only way they would die by his hand was if they were to betray them and none thought they had the resolve to commit such an unthinkable action.
Before Akashi could take the chalice from Murasakibara, the cup was whisked away from his hands and brought to someone else's lips.
The boy licked his lips of the wine before tossing the empty object into Akashi's lap. A smirk decorated his face as he looked down at the kids' reactions toward him. Every one of them was glaring at him, but only one remained still in his seat despite the death promise in his eyes. "What's with all the mean looks, you guys? Aren't you happy to see me?"
"No one invited you here, Haizaki-kun," growled the pale child. It was uncharacteristic of him but at the moment, it seemed just right.
The grey-haired child looked at the pale boy with a smirk. "So? Ever heard a party-crasher, Tetsuya? Who would want to miss out on such a promising opportunity with the young heir?"
"Don't you dare call him by his name, Shougo," Akashi ordered. "Get out."
Haizaki merely laughed at Akashi's protectiveness over his cousin. "He's going to be your downfall, young prince."
"Get out," Akashi repeated as he pointed to the door. He was not afraid to spill blood if Haizaki dared taunt him any further.
"Gosh, you seriously can't take a joke." Despite his words, Haizaki still wore a smug expression on his face before exiting the room. Before anyone could relax, Haizaki popped back into the room. "By the way, if you're trying to be secretive, try not to be so loud." The boy howled in laughter as Aomine tried to get him but Momoi held her friend back.
Akashi let out a sigh before looking to his friends tiredly. "I should have been more careful," he muttered. He closed his eyes as he rubbed his temple. Opening his eyes, he caught sight of the chalice in his lap. Eyeing the object for a second, he took hold of it before flinging it into the middle. "Damn it!"
"Sei-kun…" The pale boy looked at his cousin in concern but did not attempt to touch the infuriated boy. He was afraid that his hand would be swatted away so he resorted to grabbing the ends of his shirt.
He knew why his cousin was so angry, angry at himself. The oath was meant for them, from him. Akashi was someone who never went back on his word, never. So when Haizaki drank from the cup, it meant that Akashi had to extend his promise to protect the boy even if he did not want to.
Akashi took a deep breath before looking up at his friends, not surprised to see worried expression worn on their faces. "Let's go back up to the castle. We shouldn't be out too late."
Each child looked at each other hesitantly but eventually they got up one by one and walked up the staircase. Akashi had moved aside to let his friends through. He did not care if they saw him in his moment of weakness but he will never let anyone see his tears. He had buried his head into his cousin's back, trying to hold back the cries gathered at the base of his throat. He wanted to lash out at someone but could not. He did not even shake off his cousin's hand when the pale boy took a hold of it and led them out of the hidden room.
"Sei-kun, are you still awake?"
Akashi opened his eyes and sighed. He sluggishly turned on the bed and faced his cousin. Tired crimson orbs met with worried ice blue ones. "Yes, what do you want, Tetsuya?"
Ever since they got back to his room, the first thing he did was climb into the bed and hide from the world, kicking his shoes off as he fumbled around in the sheets. He could feel the disappointment in himself spread like some viral disease. It was a disgusting feeling. It sent chills down his spine as he thought of protecting Haizaki. The thought was revolting.
Despite his defeated state, Akashi was surprised to see his cousin's eyes filled with such resolve. "Tetsuya?"
"I want to make an oath with you, Sei-kun." The pale child looked at his cousin with searching eyes, waiting for any signs of no. When he was only with silence, the pale boy took that as a yes. He knew what happened was still troubling his cousin, so he figured that maybe his oath to the redhead would help ease the disappointment even if it was little bit.
"Tetsuya, you don't have to do such a thing," but his words ended up on deaf ears. He knew that his cousin was trying to cheer him up but he was too irritated to hear anything else. If his cousin said anything about risking his life for him, he could foresee him kicking his cousin off the bed.
"I, Kuroko Tetsuya, swear my life to Akashi Seijirou." The pale child took his cousin's hand into his own and kissed the knuckles and then the fingers. He looked up at his cousin with a small smile. "Even if I have to throw away my life, I will protect Sei-kun." The child waited for a reaction. Seeing that there were none, he slowly shuffled closer to his cousin, taking him into his arms.
Akashi just stared at his cousin the entire time, not realizing that he was already wrapped up in a hug.
He had first thought of kicking his cousin off the bed the moment he heard the oath, but the actions and the words that came after it prevented him from doing so. A kiss on the knuckles meant utmost loyalty to the receiver while a kiss on the fingers meant that he could control his cousin in any way he wanted to.
Slowly but surely, he returned his cousin's hug through unsure at first. A fierce yet protective gleam wormed its way into Akashi's eyes as he felt his cousin fall asleep in his arms. "I won't let you die, Tetsuya. I will never let you die."
It was a promise between the two cousins to each other.
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However, fate was cruel, very cruel indeed.
Author's Notes:
Well, this little idea has been bothering me for quite some time now. I still have other stories to prioritize, but I could not help it and gave in to the temptation. With that being said, I actually some time away from the KHR fandom to recollect my thoughts for my other stories. Therefore, I apologize if it gets a bit choppy between sections.
If anyone has any questions, then please do not hesitate to ask. And before I forget, I like to thank you for reading and please review.
