How should I start this... Uhh well, I'm Mayuzumi Chihiro, a third year student in Rakuzan High School. I'm in the basketball club. I seem normal from the outside, but I lack presence. People often mistake me for a ghost. Yup, I've lived a normal life up till today, but I have a secret that no one knows. I have my previous life's memories.
Well, from what I remember, in my previous life, I was a poor man living only with my mother. We worked as farmers to earn our living expenses every day and we worked under a rich clan, specifically the Kuroko clan.
But enough about my past life. Today is our final match in Winter Cup, as you can see we are against a strong opponent, Seirin High. And to my surprise, I finally found her, my lover from my past life I mean. She's here and she still looks as beautiful as ever. Her name is Kuroko Tetsuki and she's Seirin's Manager.
We lost our game, but it didn't break my heart that much compared to the scene that I'm witnessing at the moment. It was my captain and my lover, hugging each other. So that redhead still gets to have her, huh? It's definitely just like last time, and I mean
Flashback~
"Tetsuki, let's run away from here! We can live a normal, happy life away from all of this!" I shake her body to get her to make up her mind. I can't believe the lord is giving her to the Akashi clan. They are cruel, too cruel for her!
The sobbing bluenette in front of me covered her face with both of her hands. "I can't Chihiro-kun. I'll only bring shame to my family if I do that."
"B-but we love each other right? We have been together since we were young." I stop shaking her; instead, I resort to hugging her.
'This girl, she's too fragile.' I thought to myself as I held her tighter in my embrace.
Flashback end~
"Sei-chan~! Who is this? Your girlfriend?" Reo's voice interrupted my flashback. I gather around the pair, following the other.
'Act cool Chihiro. This is your first time meeting her'
I somehow noticed that Akashi kept on watching me with those sharp orbs of his. He rolled his eyes. "No, she's not my girlfriend," his smooth voice rang out as he stepped a bit closer to Tetsuki.
I felt a bit relief after hearing that, but I never knew that was just the beginning of my nightmare. "She's my fiancé." And that was it, the signal that my nightmare was starting struck me hard and I could feel my heart start to crumble.
"Hello there, I'm Mibuchi Reo. Nice to meet you." Reo piped up, and soon the introductions started.
"I'm Hayama Kotarou and this gorilla guy is Nebuya Eikichi." the blonde grinned as he pointed to the big tanned guy beside him.
"Uhh, I'm-" I paused when I looked at her. I saw those sky orbs and as I thought, they were still the same as before. Lifeless, yet beautiful. "Mayuzumi Chihiro" I continued and smiled at her. I think I just saw a pink tint on her cheeks. Well, meeting her again is enough to make me happy.
Flashback~
"Tet~suki~. What are you doing here all alone?" I saw the little bluenette all alone as usual. She's just like me, lacking presence.
"Chihiro-niisan, I was watching the children playing." Her small voice informed me as I continued to smile at her.
Tetsuki is an ojou-sama. She's the daughter of the lord that my family is serving now.
"Why not join them too? It's fun you know." I prodded.
"I can't, hahaue [a/n: hahaue means mother] will be angry. My dress will get dirty." A slight twitch of her eyebrow told me that even though she said that, she really is itching to play.
'It's really hard to be a wealthy person.' I mentally noted as I sighed, looking at the poor girl.
"Tell you what, come with me. I'll show you a game where you won't get into trouble." Her blue pools brightened and glittered, confirming my guess. She really does want to play.
Flashback end~
It was raining, as I walk with holding my umbrella to go to the convenient store for some errand. I saw something light blue standing there, taking shelter in the bus stop.
"Kuroko? What are you doing here?"
She flinched and tuned to look in my direction, her orbs widening at the sight of me, as if longing to see me.
'Am I imagining things?' I asked myself as I waited for her reply.
"Ma-mayuzumi-san, what a coincidence. I was just taking a stroll, but it suddenly started raining..."
'Taking a stroll?' Yup, something isn't making sense here.
"You know, Tokyo and Kyoto aren't just neighbors." Oh shit! I'm not supposed to say that. Ah crap, she's beet red now.
"I-I'll be going now, looks like the rain stopped." She turned away from my gaze then she ran into the harsh downpour. Is this girl serious? It's still raining heavily!
I ran after her and grabbed her wrist "W-wait! It's still raining." At that point, she just looked down and didn't show any sign of facing me.
Ah crap this is getting awkward. I really need to think of something..."Wanna hang out with me?"I glanced at her expectantly as she tilted her head to look at me. There, her face is still red, but those glittering bright orbs never failed to tell me that she really wants to. I really missed those blue orbs.
Soon, we start hanging out together a lot and we like each other's company just like back then.
Flashback~
The bluenette was running while holding books through the back door of the mansion. There, she went straight to the small hut standing in the middle of rice fields. There was a gray head sitting while reading a rather thick book.
"Chihiro-san, look what I brought you." The adorable azure-haired girl was holding the books, panting heavily and practically grinning from ear to ear.
"Tetsuki, it's not good to run while wearing that heavy dress. You might fall you know." While looking the books that she brought me, I watched as she searched for a good one. I saw her pouting face in the edge of my vision, and damn she was so cute. I chuckled a bit then ruffled her teal locks. "Thank you Tetsuki."
Flashback end~
"Mayuzumi-san, you like these type of books right?" The bluenette hands the book that she just picked up. It was light novel from the same author that I used to lend her before. She knows my taste right away after a single encounter. I was really, really happy.
"Yes, you can read it first if you like. I recommend it to you." I smiled at her.
"Really?" she glowed with her bright azure orbs. Yup, I still love her. But I'm wondering, why are her eyes so lifeless? It was so unlike before when she was so cheerful and bursting with happiness.
Little did the pair know, from the outside of the bookstore, a pair of cold crimson orbs followed their every move. Looking at the happy pair, the redheaded emperor narrowed his sharp eyes.
"So you finally show your fangs, Chihiro. You shall pay for taking my Tetsuki away from me."
Flashback~
"Tetsuki, I want you to meet the lord of Akashi clan. Will you come outside?" A woman in her forties approached the younger bluenette.
The petite teen was busy with reading her book, but she stopped immediately when she heard her mother is calling for her. "Yes, mother." She nodded her head as they both walked towards the living room.
"Ah, there they come. Let me introduce to you. This is my daughter, Kuroko Tetsuki." said the man with black hair sitting together with two redheads. "Tetsuki, this is Lord Akashi Seiji and his son, Lord Akashi Seijurou."
Tetsuki only looked at them with her poker face, but she covered it with a fan. She then bowed a little "It is an honor to meet you, I'm Kuroko Tetsuki."
The younger red head looked at her with his heterochromatic orbs, replying to her bow with one of his own.
"She's beautiful and graceful like you said. She's perfect for Seijurou, isn't that right Seijurou-kun?" The older red head said as he glanced at the younger red head beside him.
"Yes chichiue [a/n: chichiue is father] " said the younger red head.
The Kuroko couple look happy and brighten. "Is that so? Then it seems we agree with each other." Tetsuki's father gestured towards her. "Tetsuki, meet lord Akashi Seijurou. He's going to be your husband." With that her sky orbs widen in shock. Her heart just tore into millions of tiny pieces.
Flashback end~
'BAM!' Akashi suddenly hit the wall behind Tetsuki, pinning her to it. Her lifeless orbs still not waver by that anger. The red head smirked smugly and stroked her pale cheek.
"Tetsuki, how many times do I have to remind you, hmm?" No answer came from the girl, but the way her cerulean pools clashed with Akashi's deep crimson sent her defiance across. "Tetsuki..." this time his thumb stroked her lips. "...You know that I don't like my questions being left unanswered."
The small bluenette slapped the emperor's hand away from her face. "Even though we are engaged, the one that I love is him. So Akashi-kun, don't even bother reminding me again." Even if her voice is strong, her heart is actually scared of the Akashi she is seeing now. She desperately wanted to tremble in fear, but she needs to be strong for Mayuzumi's sake.
An evil smirk curved on his face, his crimson orbs become even darker. "Heh, so you know how to fight against me now?" He closed the gap between their faces, "This is why I love you." Akashi's sultry voice rang out and with that he locked his lips with hers.
Tetsuki struggled to make him let go of her, but his grip on her waist and her head was too strong. "Mnn!" her muffled cries resounded as she kept hitting his chest so that he let go of her.
After a while, the red head finally released her from his grip. He licked his lips and smiled evilly at the scared Tetsuki. "Remember Tetsuki" he approached the bluenette's and whispered in her ear. "You are mine and mine alone. And you know what will happen if someone opposed me, especially that phantom man." And with that he left her standing still, obviously frightened.
Her knees weakened and she sat down, hugging both of her knees. She repeated it like a mantra, keeping her troubled mind occupied with his name alone. "Mayuzumi-san"
_
It has been three months since I last saw her. I tried to call her, send her emails, but no. She didn't even bother to reply.
"Mayuzumi! Your playing is drooping. Concentrate!" The coach yelled out as I lagged behind a bit. Seriously coach, I don't even bother in basketball anymore. All I want to do right now is confirm her safety.
The red head is watching me, more like mocking me. His training menu on me is hellish. I really wonder if he did this on purpose. When I went to the bench to get my drink he purposely walked by me. "She's fine. I won't torture her if you stop approaching her like last time peasant."
"Wha-" I was about to ask but...
"Okay rest time over! Back to practicing!" The coach yelled again. What did he mean by that? And I was fairly certain that he used the very same words before in our past life.
Flashback~
"She's mine and mine alone! Know your place peasant!" the red head shouted at me and commanded his underling to torture me.
"Chihiro-san! NOOO! Lord Akashi, please stop this. Don't torture him!" The bluenette was crying and pleading to the red head.
The red head then grab her cheek roughly "I have told you countless time that you'll be mine, and I'll torture whoever opposes me. Now you see the result." He roughly turned her head to where I was being detained. She closed her eyes, unable to see me being tortured. "Bury him alive!"
Her eyes widened. "NOOOO! Lord Akashi please! I beg you!" she pleaded earnestly as tears flowed in a continuous stream down her beautiful face.
I was dragged by his people to the forest, but before that, I saw her crying face for the last time before she passed out. 'This is goodbye my beloved Tetsuki, even though I knew that she was my sister, I couldn't stop myself from loving her as a woman'
Flashback within a flashback~
"No Chihiro! Anyone but her!" the old lady in the poorly maintained house said as she turned to gaze at me pleadingly.
"But mother, I love her! You also knew that we grew up together." I protested.
"She's your sister, Chihiro. You are the son of Lord Kuroko and his mistress." She revealed while crying and covering her face with both of her hands.
I step back for a little before sitting down abruptly. With that my heart felt as if it stopped functioning.
End of flashback within a flashback~
That's right, I knew yet I ignored it and kept loving her. This is the karma for me for falling in love with my own sister
Flashback end~
In the Akashi mansion, the red head went and entered a room. Inside there was a bluenette lying down on the bed with flushed cheeks. He stroked her blue locks gently as if she was a fragile doll.
"Seijurou-sama, welcome back." said the old butler Kanade who stood in front of the door to that room.
"How is she doing today, Kanade?" The red head asked without even looking at his butler. His crimson orbs still on the pale bluenette.
"Her temperature still isn't showing any sign of dropping, and today she barely managed to eat two spoonfuls of her meal."
The red head released a heavy sigh "Again? Tetsuki, it's been two months. Your parents told me to take care of you while they're gone, but why are you torturing yourself like this." He once again stroked her locks gently and closed his troubled orbs.
'Just like before when I buried him. You immediately fell unconscious and got sick until you just died, following after him. It was... my mistake to separate the both of you. But I did it for your own good. He is your brother after all. I guess I have no other choice.' Akashi thought to himself as he glanced worriedly to the slumbering bluenette.
A yellow cab stopped in front of the Akashi's mansion and a gray head stepped out of the cab. Kanade had been waiting for him in front of the door and he merely gave a nod of recognition. "Welcome Mayuzumi-san, please follow me."
The gray head followed the old butler all the way until the both of them reach a room filled with comfortable chairs and a fireplace. "You can wait here, Mayuzumi-san. Seijurou-sama will be here shortly." And with that, Kanade bowed and left Mayuzumi alone in the living room.
Mayuzumi stiffened as he sat there all alone. He didn't know what Akashi was going to do to him. The past was horrible enough for him to remember. What will the present Akashi will be doing to him? Something a lot crueller? He shook his head for thinking too much. Not long after that, the door was opened and there stood the red head that approached him.
"I'm sorry for the sudden invitation." Akashi said as he sat on the opposite sofa from Mayuzumi.
"No, it's okay." the phantom answered, slightly wary of the emperor.
"Would you like some tea?" The red head offered him the tea that was prepared by the maid.
"Urm, I-" before he could finish, Akashi cut in.
"It's okay. I didn't put poison in it." His gray orbs widen in shock. "I won't kill you like before." He sips his tea then looking at the gray head in front of him. "If you're going to ask that stupid question, my answer is yes. I do remember my previous life."
"Wait so you mean you remembered all that?"
His crimson orbs looked at him "... I won't say it twice." He rolled his eyes then made himself comfortable on the sofa that he's sitting on now. "The reason why I called you here is because of Tetsuki."
"What about her?"
"Did you know what happened after I buried you?"
"The last time I saw her that day was when she suddenly fell unconscious." It was a painful memory, but that was the only last thing he saw before he left her for good.
"That's right, but after that, she suddenly became very ill and weak. Then she finally left the world for good." His gray orbs widened. "And now, I don't want to regret by making the same mistakes. Right now, her condition is not far from before."
"She's sick?"
The crimson orbs stared straight into the gray ones and the owner released a soft sigh. "Let me warn you. If you ever make her cry or hurt her, I won't stop myself from taking her back and killing you after." And with that the red head stood up and was about to leave.
"Wait! What do you mean by that?"
He stops before looking back at the phantom. "I'm breaking our engagement. She's all yours now."
Four years have passed since that time. Currently, I'm waiting under the cherry blossom trees at the place of our first meeting. This time, I mean our past life. This place held every single one of the childhood memories of our previous life. What once was a rice field was now a theme park of different colors.
"Chihiro-san." I tilt my head to the bluenette beside me. "I'm sorry, did you wait long?"
"No, let's go." I smiled at her.
"Okay then," she nods. "Let's go." She whispered as her sky blue orbs brighten and her face followed the example. No more lifeless orbs or regrets. Yes, we fell in love again, and this time at least, we have a happy ending.