Important; please be aware: these stories are not for the faint of heart. All of these stories will be of the horror genre. These will have graphic depictions of violence, and plenty of triggers. This first story has gore, as well as a few spoilers from the manga. You have been warned.
The first time, Kuroko was startled. But it was just a shock, nothing more.
He had quickly dismissed it as a fleeting nightmare, but the way he was clutching at his shirt like a lifeline, sweating profusely, tears streaming down his face, heart hammering in his chest, was definitely nothing to be dismissed a second time. Especially at the last grim message that rang in Kuroko's ears.
It first started when he just began attending Teiko, not long after he joined the basketball club and entered the 3rd string. Ogiwara had even laughed it off when he messaged him about the dream. At the time, Kuroko realized, there was only Ogiwara to confide in.
'Hmm…sounds rather creepy'. Ogiwara had replied. The following message being, 'You sure you haven't been reading too many mystery novels?'
His message was to jokingly jab at Kuroko's choice in literature, but it put a small smile on Kuroko's face nevertheless.
'They are mystery novels, Ogiwara-kun. Not horror.' Kuroko wrote back.
Kuroko did figure it was nothing, though. Ogiwara soon replied back to that, which persuaded him into forgetting about the dream soon enough.
The dream started out normally, at least looking realistic. Kuroko, for once, was aware that he was dreaming. He was standing at a train station that was dimly lit, late at night. He could not see far enough ahead to observe the area around the station, and even before he tried to, a dull, droning voice came up on the station's announcements.
"The train is approaching. If you get on, something scaaary will happen to youuu…"
Kuroko blinked once at the odd announcement, not quite knowing what to think.
The train slowly pulled up and came to a stop, an entrance right in front of Kuroko. It wasn't a freight train, or a shinkansen* like he had anticipated. It was much smaller, like a train you'd see at an amusement park to cater to energetic children and their parents, who needed a break from chasing their kid around all day.
The train screamed suspicious. Kuroko contemplated whether to step onto the train, he figured he could probably just pinch himself awake or something if it got weird.
Stepping on, Kuroko tried to comfortably seat himself in the train, picking the third seat from the back. There was a man in the seat furthest back, a woman next to him, and a few other adults scattered around the train. He recognized no one.
"The train is departiiing…" The announcer said, and Kuroko finally took in the atmosphere of the place. The air around him was warm, almost stagnant.
'Strange…' Kuroko thought, since the train was not sealed off, and air would have circulated well.
Soon, the train entered a tunnel, and the whole place was lit with an eerie hue of purple. It wasn't too odd for Kuroko, it was similar to a Halloween themed ride at an amusement park. Then, the announcer came on again.
"Next station, Sliced Alive, Sliced Aliiive...*"
Kuroko raised a brow at this, why would food be mentioned here? Fish was certainly good, but-
A loud, panicked scream broke out from behind Kuroko, coming from the man seated furthest back. Turning around, he witnessed a grotesque scene.
Four midgets in torn up rags had surrounded the man, all wearing monkey masks. They each held large knives, and with no hesitation, began to cut up the man.
They hacked into his flesh mercilessly, cutting deeper, slicing, maiming, and ignoring the tortured screams as the man cried out in agony. Kuroko couldn't even recognize anything beyond large chunks of meat and blood puddles when the masked midgets were done. A putrid smell began forming as the remains of the man were left strewn in his seat and the midgets shuffled away. He turned away, wide eyed and visibly shaken from the event. Before he faced away, he took in the disturbed face of the woman directly behind him, petrified and trying to mask any fear with a stony demeanor. Her pale complexion, however, clearly gave it all away. He faced forward, and reminded himself that it was only a dream.
Soon enough, the announcer's voice came on again, "Next stop, Gouging Out, Gouging Ouuuut…"
Kuroko heard shuffling, and he slowly turned around again to see that two midgets this time shuffled out, brandishing spoons with serrated edges. A helpless scream came from the woman, who started to struggle, but soon enough the midgets dug the spoons into her eyes, gouging them out. Kuroko couldn't bear the excruciating screams, and he quickly turned back around. His ears rang from the woman, who he could probably guess ended up like the man.
Shaking, he decided enough was enough. The next stop would inevitably be his "stop."
He tried to stand up, but was shaking too violently, and quickly sat back down. He felt powerless and wanted to throw up. This was his own mind for goodness sake!
'Wake up, wake up..!' Kuroko chanted in his mind, pinching his cheek. The announcement was going to come!
"Next stop, Minced Meat, Minced Meaaaat…"
Out of nowhere, the two midgets from earlier appeared on Kuroko's lap. He jolted, for there was an odd contraption in their hands that emitted a high-pitched whirring noise as it revved up. A meat grinder.
Kuroko pinched himself harder, to the point of drawing blood. 'Wakeupwakeupwakeup!'
The blades from the machine drew closer to Kuroko's face. Close enough that he could feel the wind from them.
He knew it was the end. He wouldn't be able to escape the deepest recesses of his mind after this.
And then there was silence.
It had been nearly four years since the first dream. Kuroko of course, never thought about it again, especially after all the events in Teiko. A dream that was a bit frighteningly realistic was nothing in comparison to nearly a year and a half of unease.
The second time happened almost immediately after the Winter Cup.
The tournament was done and over with, and Kuroko was relieved of their final victory. Apparently, his inner consciousness didn't agree with that.
He dozed off on the bench of a basketball court after a practicing his Phantom Shot. His aim was slightly off though, which was odd, and thinking about it, he shouldn't have dozed off so close to the turn of evening.
He didn't mean to fall asleep.
"…Next stop, Gouged Out…Next stop, Gouged Ouuut…" Came the accursed drone of the announcer.
Every memory of the dream came rushing back, Kuroko slowly hugged himself, waiting for the inevitable.
The inorganic voice of the woman followed, and Kuroko's could feel his stomach lurch as he recognized the woman this time.
He hesitantly raised his head, paralyzed as the two midgets maimed his female friend, Momoi, going through the process of scooping her eyes out and deforming her from there.
"M-momoi-san…" He stuttured, and fear and nausea overtaking his system. 'Wake up…wakeup…WAKEUP!' He used both hands to pull at his cheeks this time, even digging his nails into them and scratching, creating wounds.
"Next stop, Minced Meat…Minced Meeaaat…"
Kuroko began clawing at his face, gritting his teeth against the pain, tears beginning to form, and stomach about to push up his earlier meal at the stench of blood.
The two midgets once again, revved up the contraption. The whirring of the blades approached Kuroko, and he chanted over and over to wake up. The blades began cutting into his hand on his face.
With a choked garble, the dream ended.
"…Running away again? The next time will be your last."
"…roko.."
"…Kuroko!"
"Wake up, Kuroko!"
The teal head in question jerked forward, sitting up on the bench he was so grateful was there.
"Oi, are you all right?" Kagami frowned, genuinely worried for his partner. He had bent down to Kuroko's level, and supposedly shaken Kuroko awake.
Though, Kuroko couldn't focus on that. Feeling the wet trace of tears on his face, he swiped at his face, while the other free hand gripped at his shirt near his loudly beating heart.
Panting heavily, Kuroko could only focus on the words that ringed in his ears before he left the dream.
No. It was not in the dream. The voice came from outside, the real world. Realizing this, Kuroko finally directed his terrified gaze at Kagami, making him flinch.
"K-kagami-kun…" Kuroko started, but his eyes slid to stare off into nothingness, trauma evident.
Kagami winced, "...What the hell were you dreaming about?" He questioned, softly.
Kuroko began shaking, still breathing irregularly, he instead asked, "What time is it?" The sun had set, and only the city lights illuminated Kagami's physique.
Kagami, slightly off-put, pulled out his cellphone and checked. "Almost seven P.M."
Kuroko merely nodded, and silence overtook.
Kagami shifted uncomfortably. He really wanted to know what Kuroko dreamt about, if he was writhing on the bench like that. Who knows what could've happened, Kuroko might have fallen off the bench at that rate. But, he figured that all Kuroko really wanted right now was to calm down and find comfort.
Which, Kagami wasn't very good at.
"Thank you for waking me up, Kagami-kun," Kuroko did not look up, and instead stared at his hands.
Kagami glanced at Kuroko, not replying.
'Why did I have that dream again? Those last words…' Kuroko shivered, he really didn't want to go to sleep tonight.
"Let's go."
Kuroko finally looked up, seeing Kagami had already stood up and was waiting expectantly.
"I'll take you over to my place…" Kagami shifted in place, looking away. "...I get the feeling that you don't want to be alone," he idly scratched his cheek with his finger.
Kuroko, almost astonished, let a small smile grace his features. "I would like that, Kagami-kun."
Kagami returned it with a grin.
A/N: This story is based off the creepy Japanese urban legend, "Monkey Dream (Saru Yume)" It is basically what you just read. The translation I read of this can be found at sayainunderworld (blogspot).
1) A shinkansen is a Japanese high speed bullet train.
2) Sliced Alive is the translation of "Ikizukuri," which is the Japanese delicacy of seafood that is literally sliced alive and served alive.
I'd like to say it was very difficult writing this, since horror stories aren't a forte of mine, as well as that I don't exactly enjoy putting Kuroko or Momoi in these type of situations. I love both characters, but these stories are written with the purpose of being disturbing.