Lost Christmas

Chapter 1 — Slipping Light

"Look, cheer up, okay?" Yukikaze asked, eyes focusing on the road, one hand over the wheel. "Chronos is not as bad as you think. I've been living here my whole life, this place kinds of…liven up the atmosphere, you know what I mean? It's relaxing, knowing that I still feel them around wherever I am."

Chronos was a small town in Northern Canada that resided in the dark side of the world where the afternoon heat seemed a distant dream. The days were evenings and the nights were drawn into complete darkness. If the townsfolk were lucky, the moon would surface about an hour or two, emitting a feverish glow before disappearing back under the heavy humid clouds, but under some circumstances right now, the moon occasionally rejected the pull of gravity, defying the laws and stayed on duty, refusing to be lock up once more.

And the acts itself had people finding relief in their late hour shifts, incredibly satisfying, unconsciously committing more effort into their work. After the moon had gave up and retreated back into darkness, people continued eventually, believing the moon would bless them with light upon the next night—not that it was false hope, but a sentimental form of truth that built up the pleasures in the mind. People who lived in a town of the deprivation of light found the other side of the world extraordinary gifted. The outside was of different case.

Kuroko Tetsuya nodded mutely. He didn't want anymore memories come pouring into his mind. He was returning back home, back to his motherland. The place where everything started and ended for him. His life was complicated, always different and unpredictable. Kuroko's life had always been boring and lonely. He escaped to America, living with his grandparents for a long period of time while his sister refused to leave, saying that she would rather be with them even though they weren't there at all.

America was fine and it took some time getting used to the environment. The language was easy for him to ace it in exams. Life in America was comforting, but countless of nights had his mind reminiscing back in the old days where his family was completed. He kept his nights a secret from his grandparents, fearing it may set an uproar. His grandfather was always a serious man who believed in prophecies and took them seriously. Sounded more like an occult to Kuroko when he stayed there.

Now at the age of sixteen, he finally had some guts to accept his sister's invitation on moving back and taking up his first year of high school in some disfigured town with no sunlight. His grandparents had been worried of his decision, but his sister somehow convinced them she could protect him. He didn't quite listened to their conversation much, something along the lines of 'my subordinates are better in battle' or 'more came in a few months ago' and something like 'he's safer with us'. After that it was a constant blur before he was dearly caught eavesdropping by his grandfather and was given a month of reflecting on such behaviour and grounded from going out playing basketball with his friends, not to mention curfew after a month of torture without his favourite sport.

She chuckled. "So, the old man caught you eavesdropping on Grandma and me? How sneaky are you these days?"

Kuroko made a face. "Ever since both of you started talking privately to each other when I'm not around." He folded his arms, looking downcast and somewhat frightened of what they were discussing about. "You guys are more secretive now, even Grandpa over-exaggerated when I was five minutes late for curfew. You guys seemed…wary of something since my sixteenth birthday. Wha—"

"I'm sorry, Tetsu, but—"

"And why was I moving in with you after I turned sixteen?" He was getting desperate each time they spoke to each other. Things like being disrespectful of others' privacies didn't faze him anymore. His instincts were acting up and controlling him. Every emotion he felt for the past years erupted. He wasn't giving any chance for his sister to talk. She was about to say something when his words finally cut through her with a final strike. "And what did you mean by 'he's safer with us'?"

For a millisecond, he saw her eyes stilled, hand tightening over the wheel and her body froze before reverting back to the same. It was within a second and anyone else wouldn't have noticed it, but after years of observing people in America—the hands sighs, the different signatures and the slight movements deterred by the body subconsciously. It had became a habit of his to watch, observe and conclude. Just as he had finalized, a dark secret had been going around, and his sister was the most involved out of his family.

She sighed exasperated, as if talking to him had sucked the life out of her. She lazily laid her eyes on the road, ignoring his incompetent stare as she glided the vehicle overpassed others, the speed increasing, silently wishing to reach home faster before anymore questions gave her another bad case of extreme headache. "Tetsu, everyone has a secret and it's not that easy to tell. Somethings are meant to be kept a secret for the sake of others."

"You're running off track," Kuroko grumbled. Silence trapped the air in a suffocating lack of oxygen. He had every right to know what was happening around the world. What was happening to him. Deciding maybe he had gone a little too far, he turned away from her and pressed his head against the windshield, looking out into the streets of Chronos that haunted his memories every night. Every glance had his stomach churning in different ways he hated the most. "At least," he spoke up, pausing for awhile. "At least, tell me how does this have anything to do with me."

The reply was quiet and distant, a sickening whisper that she hoped he would miss. "You tell me. This has everything to do with you."

He heard it clearly.

After hours of unpacking, Kuroko collapsed onto his bed, staring up into a replica of the sky in America, topped with white clouds and blue sky, an image of the sun peeking out from one of the clouds was at the far corner of his room. His sister had definitely went overboard with recreating his old room where he'd stayed in few years ago. Every inch of the walls and floorboards were neatly glued in squares, you could hardly noticed any traces of lines from defining separate papers. Just looking at the fake clouds from the ceiling had his mind drifting off.

One moment he was in his room, the next he was lying on air, in between Heaven and Earth, floating in a sea of clouds. Smiling contently, he imagined the sun peeking out from one of the clouds of what used to be his wall. This was beyond perfect. Since when had his sister knew his fascination of the sky? From the ceiling to the floor, he would be seeing a lot of America's sky rather than Chronos'—well, at least a relatively counterpart of it.

"Like it?" His mind was brought back to reality, watching his sister standing by the doorway with an obvious smirk. "I made sure that you wouldn't get homesick about America, so I got the gang together and came out with this gig."

Kuroko smiled, forgetting about their earlier conversation. "Thank you, Yuki-nee." As sudden as his mind had forgotten about her words, as sudden his mind had repeated the scene back and forth, protesting about his quick forgiveness despite having no questions of his own answered. He sat up, glaring at his sister. "Don't think I'm through with you yet." The usual annoying smirk disappeared, replaced by wariness as she unknowingly took a step back.

She huffed, puffing her cheeks childishly. "Even though I've done so many things for you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Now you're just acting inappropriately."

"That's because Tetsu-kun doesn't appreciate my efforts!"

"Yuki-nee, adding in any honorific isn't changing my thoughts or helping your materiality. In fact, please drop it."

She smiled. "You've gotten stronger over the years. Makes me reconsider of having you to be older." She ran her hand through her teal locks. "Anyway, the transfer papers are done. Enjoy your high school life in Teiko High."

Hours after a full course dinner prepared by Yukikaze, mashed potato topped with gravy, fresh fried seaweeds dipped in oyster sauce and fried tomatoes with a standard arrangement of salad and tuna, Kuroko helped with the cleaning. After years of missing his sister's cooking, it had finally satisfied his appetite. In America, the maids and butlers usually did the cooking, but it wasn't as good as his sister's, she really must have inhabited his mother's talent and her weird and delicious recipes. Taking a shower, he changed into a white T-shirt and a pair of shorts before walking off to sleep.

Disarming all the lights, Yukikaze went back into her own room and laid on her bed. A moment of complete stillness passed by, only silence accompanying her as she waited for awhile. Making sure that her brother was asleep, she took out her phone and dialled a number without looking at her phone and placed it against her ear. By the third ring, someone picked up. "Hello?"

She scowled. "Stop acting pathetic."

The other line burst into a fit of small laughter. "Sorry, sorry. Just playing. So, what does the princess want now?"

She rolled her eyes, her frown deepened. "Tomorrow, my brother is attending Teiko High."

"And you want security, don't you?"

"Exactly." She narrowed her eyes. "Make sure that no harm comes to him or I'll be sure to snap of your head," she threatened.

"Yea, yea. Relax, I'll be doing a fine job—"

"Haizaki," she barked. "If you come anywhere near my brother, note that I won't go easy on you if I see any marks on him. Pass this mission onto the Generation of Miracles. Just incase, I'm calling Rin-san in the morning. I'm only calling to warn you to stay away from my brother."

Haizaki tried to act hurt. "Ah, Yuki-chan, you're hurting my feelings. I mean, I should be enough to look after him myself—"

"Anywhere near him and you're dead. We're done." She hung up. She was internally burning inside her, angered by his playful antics every time. Just like she said, she couldn't bear to let her brother near the boy at all cost. He shouldn't be trusted no matter what. Her brain hurt just from thinking what were the chances of his brother bumping into him or worse, he would come for Kuroko himself. At least the warning had been announced directly at him. He should be thinking twice before stepping over the boundary.

She exhaled, finding hard to breathe in her condition before drifting off to a restless sleep.

Akari: Yes, yes, fellow readers, I have come up with another new idea, and you guys are probably bashing me about Player right now. Something like "Great, how many fiction does she have to delete in order to be satisfy?". Well, you're wrong on that part. Player have just been placed in a hiatus because I have no idea what to write. I have everything plan out for the future, the only problem is the beginning.

While I tried to think of something smart, I'll just have to settle with my other idea which is this. This fiction was suppose to come up after I finish Player, but what the heck, it's fine. This story may not be long lasting, like it might end in twenty-five? I don't know, depends. Some of you technically knows what is going to happen next, but mind I remind you, this fiction isn't the 'submissive' type.

By the venue, I'm guessing you guys knows what's happening next right? And you guys are probably going "Not this again, do you realize how many Authors have written these much about romance story between a *beep* and a *beep*". Yes! I know, but I just cant let this idea slip away. Anyway, expecting updates from this.