( .A/N; this is my first ever KnB fanfic so I am sorry for any horrible portrayals that come up. ;_; I also haven't written fanfiction in a long time (my last update here was 5 years ago LOL) so I'm sorry for any horrid writing! I've been super stressed lately because of uni, with all these assignments piling up, so I decided to take a break and just write, since that always makes me feel better. this story is actually inspired by the fact that I just recently learned that Akashi and Natsume from Natsume Yuujinchou share the same voice actor - I WAS MINDBLOWN. you have sweet, angelic Natsume and I'll-gouge-my-eyes-out-for-you psychopath Akashi sharing the same voice and I'm just- yo. yooooo. okay then. but so I decided to sort of combine the two. I have absolutely no idea where I am going to go with this fic but I know that I want it to follow the manga plot, just with my own AUness to it. but I'm sorry if some things are not accurate and I don't even know yet if Akashi is my main character or if I'll switch to Kuroko once he's been introduced. I also don't know what pairing will come out of this - some pairing will happen, involving Kuroko (because Kuroko is just so damn shippable), but I haven't decided on anything yet. but... yeah. I hope you enjoy! ;v; I'm sorry that it's sort of short but yes yes. I do not own KnB and all that jazz.
"Aomine, I do not believe that you should be here this late." Standing at the entrance to the gym, a short, red-haired male spoke, his words sharp and concise as he watched a boy dunk a basketball into the hoop. His feet his the ground with a dull thud before he spared the redhead a glance, pulling his shirt up to catch the beads of sweat rolling down his forehead before they dripped into his eyes.
"Ahh, sorry Akashi. Didn't even realize the time." Aomine barked out a laugh as he moved to pick up the basketball, tucking it under his arm. With no response from the one watching him, Aomine quickly grabbed his bad and made his way to the entrance, only stopping for a moment to offer the other male a curt nod. Standing next to each other, Aomine practically towered over Akashi. From his large stature to his broad shoulders, Aomine, when placed next to Akashi, looked like he belonged in university, not middle school. But even though physically Aomine was far ahead if Akashi, mentally no one was able to match up to Akashi Seijuurou.
"Do not stay this late again." Aomine swallowed and nodded once more before stepping past Akashi and away from the gym. Akashi's red eyes stayed on him until the darkness enveloped him, his gaze then returning to the inside of the gym. It was empty but bright—Aomine had forgotten to shut the lights off. Dark shadows stretched along the corners of the large room, dancing to a rhythm that caused Akashi to sigh. He quickly shut the lights off and turned away from the gym, heavy doors falling shut behind him, allowing him to step away from the airy murmurs without worry.
Life was slow, Akashi often mused. Too slow. But he went along with this dreadfully slow pace, following the patterns that had been established in his life, his everyday routine. He woke up every morning and went to school, he attended basketball practice after classes let out for the day then stayed in the library to read for an hour or two, and then he went home, taking the same route he always took, day after day.
"Watch your step, please!" Akashi glanced down, momentarily halting in his tracks as a group of small shadows rushed past his feet. Once out of his path he simply continued on his way, paying no mind to anything but himself. Shadows lingered, some followed the boy, others simply watched and waited. For him to notice them. For him to attempt to interact with them. For them to have their chance. But Akashi was not stupid. He knew better than to interact with the monsters around him, because monsters only meant bad news.
He had never been able to see them clearly, but he knew that they were there. His grandmother, who also had been able to see them, had referred to them as ayakashi or yokai, but since her passing, the only recognition that the strange shadows he would see received was as monsters, as so labeled by his mother and father. He assumed it was just a natural factor for his bloodline to be able to see these creatures, so he had never thought much of it. As long as he didn't interfere with them and they didn't interfere with him, things were normal. He was normal, not that he really cared.
Since as long as he could remember, Akashi had not been bothered by dark figures that stood at a distance and shadows that crept toward him. He was born a very straight-laced child who never cried or acted out, always maintaining an unphased, unamused demeanor. Even when he discovered that the things he could see that were so natural in his life went unseen by all the other children, Akashi remained the same. Unshaken. Undisturbed. He had already known he was different than, if not above, others, strange ability or not. Akashi already knew that he was destined for greater things than his peers.
"I have returned." Silence was his only greeting as he stepped through the threshold of the large, grand household. It was past 9:00PM after all, which meant that his parents had long since abandoned the living room for their separate home offices. A maid quickly rushed up to him and removed his shoes, offering to take his bag also but Akashi just waved her away and made for his bedroom.
Whispers of 'young master is here' and 'Akashi-sama has returned' filled his ears as he ascended a dark mahogany staircase and Akashi simply swatted away the dark particles that floated up to him to greet him. While it was a rule in his household to never engage them, there was no way to avoid all of them. Monsters existed everywhere, in different shapes and sizes. They were practically everywhere, so fully escaping them was impossible. Akashi chose to just silently coexist with the shadows that had littered his home since before his birth. They knew of him and acknowledged him, and Akashi vaguely remembered his grandmother telling stories of the yokai that resided in the house that she had once befriended. Akashi was not interested in being friendly with them, though. As long as they knew their place, they would remain unnoticed and unharmed.
"Good evening, Seijuurou-sama," another maid greeted from outside the door to his bedroom. "Dinner has been placed upon the table in your room."
"Thank you, you are dismissed." She bowed her head and left as Akashi moved to open his door and step into his room. Four dark walls surrounded him, dark furniture displayed throughout the room. His bedroom looked uninhabited—not like a room that a middle school boy would live in. There were no toys, no posters thumbtacked up on his wall of athletes he admired. His walls were bare, save for the multiple ceiling-high bookshelves that were packed tight with literature one would never expect a middle schooler to even be able to begin to comprehend. But Akashi just stepped up to a shelf and pulled a small book out, taking a seat on the dark leather armchair before letting the bound volume fall open, the plate of food on his table left untouched.
And this was Akashi Seijuurou's routine, his listless, everyday life that he could not break from.
Aomine was there the next evening, once again shooting baskets, but at the sight of Akashi he was much quicker this time to finish up and rush out of the gym. Unlike the night before though, Akashi now stood in his way.
"Akashi—sorry. Coach gave me some tips today during practice and I wanted to try them out." It was innocent enough a reason that Akashi didn't mind—he would be lying if he had said he thought Aomine would listen to him anyway. Aomine was just as stubborn as he was dimwitted, but Akashi knew that Aomine truly enjoyed basketball and would do anything to improve his skills. Aomine had no reason to listen to Akashi anyway. Akashi was very much in charge but he was neither the captain nor the coach.
"Do not make this a recurring incident. The coach will not be happy when you overexert yourself."
Aomine laughed and rubbed his neck. "I think I'm done with night practice. This place has been giving me the creeps lately."
"Oh?" Akashi raised an eyebrow, slight intrigue showing on his features. "How so?"
"You'll think I'm crazy."
"I believe I am more rational than that, Aomine. Now, do explain."
"Ahh…" Exhaling heavily, Aomine looked over Akashi's shoulder as he spoke, eyes lost in the darkness of the night sky. "I think our gym's got a ghost or something. Sometimes when the ball gets away from me, some… thing passes it back. Sometimes I see someone out of the corner of my eye but when I look, nothing's there."
Akashi simply stared past Aomine and into the dark gym as the taller male spoke, his eyes narrowed.
"Go home and get some rest. You are dismissed." Aomine awkwardly shuffled past Akashi, mumbling a goodbye. Akashi stood firm in his spot, his red eyes scanning the darkness. When nothing seemed out of the ordinary, he took a step into the gym and closed the door behind him, standing still in complete silence.
Things were definitely ordinary for Akashi, as small shadows darted across the floor at his feet. He let a deep sigh pass through his lips as he moved further into the gym, the presence of creatures around him growing with each step he took. He had never seen anything but the usual small shadows on the school grounds and especially in the gym, but if something had begun to bother Aomine, the village idiot, so much to the point of avoiding prolonged exposure to the dark gym, Akashi felt a sense of duty to do some casual investigating. It wasn't that he wanted to find these monsters and settle problems held with them, he simply wanted a way to kill time and cure some of his boredom.
"...very interesting. I would not mind hearing more." Akashi halted, straining his senses to catch the location of the soft voice, be it by sight or sound. He remained absolutely quiet for and long while, slightly irritated by the fact that the voice had not let even and syllable slip since he had noticed it's presence. Having another vocal cue would surely make his search much easier, but Akashi was one who enjoyed and challenge. Then his head suddenly snapped to the right, eyes narrowed.
Standing by the wall was a tall, dark figure, next to it the darkened outline of a boy no taller than Akashi himself. He gazed at the two, contemplating his next move when he noticed something.
One of the figures had the outline of a boy. It was not just a thick stroke of darkness, it had a real, definite shape.
He then realized that he had never seen a monster so clearly before.