Notes: The GoM are the true rulers of their kingdoms, meaning they are the biological children of the previous kings/queens. They are addressed as Kings/Queens followed by their last name. Their spouses, even those born into royalty, are considered lower ranking and recieve the title of Lord/Lady followed by their first name. It is considered improper to address a royal without a title or first name without honorifics unless given permission to do so. Kuroko will address anyone, excpet Kagami (he calls him Taiga-Kun which is cute as hell), with the honorifc of -San because of his personality and since Seirin is a new country, everyone is considered higher ranking in his eyes despite being royalty himself. Takao will use -Chan no matter what and Furi-Chan will use -San as well since he's a commoner that married into royalty. Kagami is considered a commoner, even though he's born in an upper middle class family, because he's not royalty.

Status-up marriage/dating: Slang for marrying/dating someone of higher ranking for social, economic, or persoanl reasons. Can be seen as inappropriate or a gold-digging scam.

Alex: Hope these notes make sense for you Peeps!


Degree 2: Freezing Point

It's been exactly three days since Furihata got married to Emperor Akashi Seijuurou…

He sniffles as his tanned hand rubs away to drying tear marks on his face. The bottom part of his wedding kimono is starting to fray and turn ashy from the dirt inside the cell. Since he spends his days sitting in a crouched position, it's more than likely stained beyond repair. Inside his little cage had minimal furniture and a bar covered window that's about the size of a loaf of bread. There was a lumpy bed in the furthest corner of the cell, too tiny for anyone to sleep in comfortably. The mattress is super flat, incredibly dusty from many years of neglect, and had mysterious stains that he really doesn't want know where they came from. Next to the bed is a small desk with a simple lantern on top of it as if mercilessly mocking him with its fiery, hopeful looking flames in the cold nights. On the other corner is a basic toilet and wash bin that he doesn't dare use at all. All of that is what makes up his crappy home sweet home. Because he refuses to stay clean, his hygiene greatly suffers from it, but the brunette really couldn't care less. Furihata's hands grew rough, calloused, and caked in dark ashes. There were small cuts all over his palm, fingernails with dirt shoved into them from the amount of hours he spent clawing at the walls as he begged someone to save him from this horrible place. His skin lost its beautiful tanned color as it paled in comparison to white snow from malnutrition. The hue of his body turned gray from the dust floating inside the damp dungeon. The auburn eyed males' hair went from a fluffy mess to limp, straw like consistency since he hasn't washed it in days. It felt itchy and dry, he even found big pieces of dust bunnies in it one time when he was picking at his tresses out of boredom. Dark circles probably haunting his face, making it look sunken in and giving anyone the impression that he became a living skeleton. Lastly, his auburn irises went from their gorgeous honey color to a muddy brown from the never ending grief that hurts his heart on an hourly basis. He looked like total Hell, he feels like it too.

He softly stokes the camellia hair clip in his hair when a royal guard came to his cell with a simple meal of some type of meat and a piece of bread, "Hey, I brought you your food, Lord Akashi. You haven't eaten in days, you need to have something to save your strength."

His voice croaked from lack of usage and sadness, "For what?! Why? So I can talk to the dragons for him? Ha! You have to be joking, I rather starve. He took me from everything I've ever known. My family…friends….my home. I want to go home! I miss my mama and big brother. Can I go home now?"

"Look kid, I feel bad and all…but, you can't go home. Not anymore now that you're Emperor Akashi's husband. What do you want from me? So…do you want the food or not?" The guard roughly tells him while trying to figure out a way to comfort the poor mousy boy locked up in a cage.

"N-No…..you can have it, I don't want it." Fuirhata manages to mutter out then, tucks his head into his arms and knees as a way to completely shelter himself from the cruel world outside the cell.

From under his arms, he studies the guard eating the food hungrily. He's tall, broad shouldered, lightly tanned skin, small muscles, sharp features, a permanent scowl on his face that makes him feel a little intimidated, coal black in a messy style, and stormy gray eyes that always glare at everything as if they have committed some unspeakable crime against him. The brunette doesn't know how he feels with this guy just sitting there outside his cell, he recognizes his face though. Sir Nijimura Shuuzou, one of the best knights in Rakuzan and his husband's most trusted companion. They have somewhat spoken a bit before during his rushed engagement to the emperor. The knight is rough around the edges, loud, angry all the time, grumpy to the point that no one believes he can actually smile, proud, stubborn as hell, a bit violent, and swears every five seconds. Furihata constantly feels in a state of unease around this man since he hardly knows him and he is just so scary. His partner and long term lover, Sir Haizaki Shogou, is even worse than he is. The tall, muscular structured, slim framed, stone cold frown, angular features, silvery locks always looking like he fought with the wind, and ashy irises that always never fail to cause of uncomfortableness in his gut. The man gives off this murderous aura that sends shivers down his spine when they make eye contact. Those two combined is the worst possible thing to ever happen to him. He can barely handle Sir Nijimura by himself, but Sir Haizaki with him create a Spartan duo. The brunette shoves his head deeper into his own shell to avoid more problems from the both of them.

Too late, Sir Haizaki enters the room with a yawn, "What? Nijimura, you're eating his food? Damn kid, aren't ya gonna eat anything?"

He bites out, "No, I'm not hungry."

Sir Nijimura scoffs, "See? He says he's not hungry. It's not my fault if he starves or develops some freaky eating problem because he doesn't want to eat!"

"Kid, I forgot….what's your name again?" The silver haired male grunts out while rubbing his head in embarrassment for forgetting the name of the husband of his emperor.

"F-Furi-…..I mean Akashi Kouki…..and I talk to d-dragons." He whimpers pathetically with fat tears rolling down his face in a river of sadness.

"WHOA! Don't cry!"

"What did you do idiot?!"

"I didn't do anything! He's the one that started crying!"
"Dammit, if someone sees this, the emperor will get fucking pissed!"

"It's not my damn fault that he's spineless!"
"I fucking swear Haizaki, if I go down for this, I'm taking you down with me!"

"YOU'RE EVIL!"

"No, I'm being realistic! Goddamn! You're impossible as always!"

"I'M impossible?! You're worse than me!"

"Um….guys?"

"Haha! You wish I was worse than you, asshole!"

"Dick!"

"Don't call me things that you like!"

"U-Uh! SHUT THE HELL UP!"
"GUYS!"

"WHAT?!"

Furihata twiddles his hands as a nervous habit, but somehow got the reserve to speak again, "Um….can I leave? Or am I going to be forced to stay down here?"

Sir Nijimura answers him, "Well, the public thinks that you are constantly in bed due some kind of made up illness and that no one is allowed to see you except for a few handpicked servants."

"So, I can't go home? I don't want to be married to him! He h-hurts me and locked me in here like I'm a secret when everyone KNOWS we went through the wedding because I'm a dragon speaker. I don't want to be in this place anymore and I just want to go home! WAH~!" He cries out while bracing himself in his own arms as if trying to bring himself some comfort in his horrible situation.

"Ah, damn! He's crying again!"

"I swear I didn't do anything Nijimura!"

"Whatever, just do something!"

"You're HIS guard, you should be the one to comfort him!"
"HELL NO! What do I look like, his babysitter?"
"WAH~!"

"Ugh….fine, I'll try! Hey, kid!"

Fuirhata managed to calm down a little, "Y-Yeah?"

A grunt courtesy of Sir Nijimura, "You're crying 'cause ya wanna go back home, right?" A nod, "Okay, well…..you can't go home, but maybe you can convince him to let you see your family."

"B-But, he's the emperor and I can't ask that even if I wanted to! He probably locked me up in here because he didn't want me to escape…it'll embarrass him if his dragon speaking husband ran off for no reason." The brunette tried to give reason to the rather insane proposition.

Haizaki pitched in, "Man, you're screwed!"

The brunette wailed, "That's cruel!"

Stormy gray eyes narrow in irritation, "Ugh, it doesn't matter anymore! Hey kid, today's your lucky day."

"Um….why?" He doesn't like the sound of that.

"The emperor summoned you, looks like the Generation of Miracles are coming to the palace for a week for their monthly meeting with Emperor Akashi." The silver haired knight explained to the confused dragon speaker.

The Generation of Miracles, the nicer nickname to label the six kings of the world. Honestly, no one would've gotten away with calling them monsters or freaks. The only one that doesn't apply to the legendary name is King Kagami Taiga, for reasons that Furihata did not understand. Apparently, King Tetsuya, was originally a member of the Generation of Miracles. The brunette doesn't know the exact details, but he heard that King Tetsuya abandoned that label when he got married to the new ruler of Seirin. The others were very upset at his choice, yet they were somehow subdued into complying with his wishes. The one that was the most against the union between King Kagami and Lord Tetsuya was the emperor himself. The auburn eyed male wondered why in the world his husband would be so adamant on not giving them his blessing to their marriage until the last minute. It caused the usually mousy boy to think that there's more it then meets the eye on that particular story. The two arguing knights let him out of the cage while he was thinking about this, they led him to a large room that was extravagantly decorated and the emperor was patiently waiting for them with an unreadable grin on his handsome face. Furihata suddenly wanted to turn back and happily return to his cell if it means avoiding spending one on one time with the man he was forced to marry; the idea sounds more tempting by the second.

"You two may take your leave." Was the first thing that escaped the emperor's lips as he ordered the knights to get out.

A lot of maids walked into the room while talking over each other, "Oh my word! Look at his complexion, so ashy and dry!" More complaints, "His fingernails are rough and cracked, the dirt is caked in!" Another one chimes in, "Come honey, let's wash that dirty hair of yours!"

"My Lord?" He asks hesitantly as he was lead into the emperor's bedroom by some maids by his cracked and dirtied hands.

"Kouki, you need to get dressed finely. The rulers of the other kingdoms are coming to meet you and we need you to look your best." His husband assures him as they walk into the grand room with the servants' chit chatting about his poor state.

The brunette stutters out of bashfulness about his horrible hygiene and the unexpected gentleness from the emperor while forgetting the fact that the ladies were undressing him in front of someone he hardly knows, "O-O-Oh…That makes sense, please tell me about them."

"Of course, King Aomine Daiki and his wife, Satsuki are a wonderful couple. Daiki is a wild card if dealt with alone, so I prefer is Satsuki is by his side during our annual meetings. He often walks out sometimes and it's very difficult to get him to return on his own free will. King Miorima Shintarou and his husband, Kazunari are an unlikely pair that humor me with their company. Shintarou is a more reasonable and intelligent man than Daiki, we sometimes play shogi together whenever we have the chance. King Kise Ryouta and his husband, Yukio brighten up the atmosphere from their arguments. They amuse me every time we gather for these meetings. Ryouta is young and inexperienced as a ruler, but he'll improve in the future. His husband, Yukio, keeps him grounded when it's needed and anchors his flighty nature. I do have my….issues with King Murasakibara Atsushi since he no longer listens to me anymore, but I do not worry with his husband, Tatsuya being by his side. Lastly, there's King Kagami Taiga and I….don't particularly like him." The emperor explains quietly, gently as if talking to a small child instead of a full grown man about the other kings.

"O-Oh, why? Is he a bad ruler?" He can't stop himself from asking as the maids scrubbed harshly with scented soaps at his muddy skin and dust filled hair.

A sigh, "No….he's a great king, it's how he became king that still frustrates me."

Auburn eyes stare sideways at his husband as the maids continue cleaning him and out of curiosity in hopes that he learns more about why his husband does not like the new king, "What did he do?"

}"He was born in an upper middle class family, a very respectable one. He met the prince, Tetsuya, when they were about fifteen and they fell in love. Since Seirin was a new country back then, there wasn't any established laws forbidding commoners from marrying into royalty. When they married, Tetsuya allowed Taiga to be the king while he supported him from the background. I am not fond of seeing such an obvious status-up marriage be ignored by everyone else." Akashi grumbles as if he had been defeated and lost a great battle.

"Did you…..love Lord Tetsuya?" Hey, he was a really curious guy and it made sense of why his husband seemed so closed off.

The emperor looked stunned, "I….did, in my own way. Why do you ask so suddenly?"

Furihata felt anxious as the maids dressed him up in another kimono, afraid that he'll be reprimanded for not knowing his place, he stammers, "W-Well….the way you talked about how they got together, you looked really sad. I don't k-know much about royalty or any of that stuff, but it's obvious that you were hurt that Lord Tetsuya chose someone else over you. A-Anyone would feel upset at getting indirectly rejected like that."

The crimson haired ruler stayed quiet after that which made the brunette anxiously wonder if he overstepped his boundaries. His bloody red and golden amber eye softening a little bit while humming in thought. Furihata got dressed in a beautiful crimson kimono with camellias patterned all over in a metallic gold sheen. A rosy pink obi tied by a red sash hugged his thinning waist that made him blush in embarrassment that everyone will see the fact that he's too skinny or scrawny to leave any kind of impression. The camellia hair clip is still in his now washed, brushed hair and it shined elegantly under the waning sunset light. For once since the wedding, he actually looked like the spouse of a powerful emperor. A hand outstretched to him, he took it with a little hesitation. Akashi led him out of the room in slow, graceful strides next to him. They had not exchanged a single word since his little outburst of invading the young ruler's private life in his past in regards of his questionable unrequited love towards Lord Tetsuya. A lump grew like an ugly, twisted, uprooted tree inside of his throat while thinking that he'll get brutally punished for talking about something he knows nothing about. It makes sense, all he ever knew were books and dragons. The winged beasts provided a weird sense of comfort to him as he grew up in Rakuzan. He learned that they never had a specified gender, but are able to reproduce just like any other animal. The dragons prefer to live in their nests in peace, without any human to invade their livelihood. It's sort of an unspoken agreement between the humans and the winged beasts to never interfere with the others' lives or properties. Dragon speakers are tolerated at best, but they are still considered outsiders by the nest. When Furihata wasn't spending time with the dragons, he would lock himself in his room to read books. There something about the smell of paper and old leather, seeing black-and-white words turn a novel into a world of adventure before his eyes. It was his way of coping with the fact that he wasn't born an ordinary boy like he originally thought, he talks to dragons after all.

Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it's not recommended to spread that sort of secret around. Dragon speakers can get kidnapped and be used to lure dragons into a hunter's den, only to be used as a means to make money. Keeping his talent hidden wasn't easy, but it was necessary if he wanted to live his life as normally as possible. It was inevitable that it'll come to light one day. He revealed his dragon speaking nature in front of someone he didn't know to protect them from the winged beasts, now he's married to the man that he saved. What an ironic twist of fate. His ability that he kept secret for so long is the thing that landed him in this situation in the first place. All in all, he felt scared when Akashi suddenly stopped in a small room filled with large mirrors before the entrance of the palace where their guests are patiently waiting for them. It didn't matter how they will be kept waiting, the emperor had always been the exception when it comes to the countries monthly meetings. He could have them wait for six hours and they would still comply with his wishes. The brunette thinks that this might be because Rakuzan is the first country to form its own political, economic power with the willpower of extremely stubborn elites that overwhelmed their enemies with their wealth and influence that lasted many centuries. It stayed as the strongest kingdom for years and years without missing a single beat. Auburn eyes study the reflections in the mirrors instead of looking at the actual physical being that is his husband. The crimson haired male gazed at him firmly with an eerie smile on his handsome face that made the dragon speaker shiver inwardly to try to not show any fear at all.

"Kouki…" Akashi spoke up first.

"Y-Yes?" He asked while bracing himself for anything.

A rough squeeze that nearly cut of all circulation in his wrist, "Remember, address the kings by their last names only. Their spouses are also kings, but you may call them lords or lady. You may call them by first name without these titles if they grant you permission. Understood?"

He nods quickly with some tears in his eyes because of the pain, "Y-Yes, I understand, My Lord."

"Good, I'm glad that we reached an agreement. I do want you to make yourself useful by befriending my allies' spouses, it'll make things easier for you if you obey me." Heterochromia irises stare down at him somehow despite their similar heights, Furihata trembled in utter fear at the thought of what might happen to him if he disobeys or makes a bad impression.

"Y-Y-Yes….My Lord." He answers, the grip on his wrist was gone and was replaced by an arm wrapping around his waist.

Akashi gave him a smile so unbelievably sweet that the brunette knew was a cover up to hide his true nature in front of their important guests, "Wonderful. Now, do not look so glum Kouki. You are my lovely husband that was excited to spend your life with me."

Auburn eyes stare at him in terror as he attempts to give a simple grin, "Yes, I am very happy to be married to you, My Lord. Forgive me for my bad expression, let's go…We can't keep our guests waiting."

The crimson haired male appears pleased by his response; he lets out a relieved sigh that he managed to escape a horrific situation. They walked into the entranceway where the kings and their spouses chatting quietly to each other, with a few exceptions that are definitely not using their indoor voices. A dark skinned, blue haired male glares at him while the pink haired woman next to him gave him a pleasant grin. There's an overwhelmingly giant purple haired king with a black haired beauty by his side, he's lazily munching on various snacks at a slow pace. A grumpy look black haired male that looked like he doesn't want to be there with a ridiculously beautiful blond man crossed his arms as if trying to not scream out in a bloody rage. Another black haired male is happily talking to a taller green haired one with a mischievous grin on his face that makes anyone think he's up to something devious. For some reason, a redhead stood there a little bit behind such an intimidating group holding a rather one-sided conversation with some invisible person. He noticed that his husband went off to greet their guests as he wondered about the strange king that's all alone. It was odd since King Tetsuya is supposed to show up like all the other spouses as well. It wouldn't look good if he did not come to the meeting. But, that wouldn't explain why King Kagami is by himself and talking to thin air. He decided not to think about it too much as he thinks back on how to properly address the queen and kings. The Generation of Miracles are considered the true rulers of their countries and whoever they marry are considered kings or queens in their own right. But, those spouses will inherit the title of lord or lady since they considered lower ranking than their country's king. Furihata did not understand those rules, but they made some sense.

"Lord Akashi." A quiet voice interrupts his train of thought.

"AH!" He screams out in shock that he hopes that no one else heard, but he wasn't born that lucky.

"Damn Tetsu, don't sneak up on Akashi's husband!" King Aomine yells out as if he has been saying that for years.

A light blue haired, blue eyed male ghostly appears in his eyesight, "Forgive me, I have a rather low presence and it takes some time for people to notice me. I am King Kagami Tetsuya, the husband of King Kagami Taiga. It's a pleasure to meet Emperor Akashi's new husband."

The brunette finally gathers himself from his initial surprise, "U-Um…no, it's okay. It's my fault for not seeing you. You can call me Kouki, I don't mind."

"Ah, I see. Well, Kouki-San, you may call me Tetsuya if you wish." It was subtle, but Furihata swore he saw a small smile on the expressionless man's face.

"Yo, Kou-Chan! Damn, should you be out of bed? You look skinny! We're gonna eat a lot to fatten you up in no time!" King Midorima Shintarou's husband calls out to him enthusiastically as he walks up to them and wraps his arm around the brunette's shoulder in a friendly embrace.

"Kou-Chan? U-Um…you must be Lord Midorima Kazunari, nice to meet you. And, I eat plenty enough for myself" He decides to say to make a good impression on the grinning man while hiding the fact that he's actually starving himself.

His new companion pouts, "Aw~! You're too cute! Call me Kazu, all those titles are too stiff, dontcha think?"

Lord Tetsuya steps in, "Kazunari-San, please don't be so forceful on Kouki-Kun. He is very ill and must be treated delicately."

Oh, he forgotten that the emperor told the general public that he's "sick and needs bedrest" to explain why no one ever sees the emperor's new husband in the palace, "It's fine, I feel a little better now and I was able to ask my husband to allow me to meet all of you." Mind as well play along with the story as best as possible, "I wish I wasn't so sick all the time. I don't get to travel to the mountains anymore to talk to the dragons."

"Oh, right! I forgot that you talk to dragons! Tetsu-Chan and Shin-Chan also have that ability too, I'm so jealous!" Lord Kazunari whines while confirming the rumor about his husband being a dragon speaker.

"If you like to have someone to talk to about that, please come to me or Midorima-San." The bluenette softly tells him and his expression remains unreadable.

They talk to each other a little more as Furihata listens to various stories about their husbands. When they ask him, he clams up and tries to change the subject. He didn't know what to talk about, he never really spent that much alone time with the crimson haired male. They were by themselves earlier when he was getting dressed and in that mirror room, but he had been locked up since their wedding over three days ago. He noticed the shared glance they had when the brunette attempted to deviate from the matter regarding his husband. The dragon speaker inwardly wince in fear that he might have done something wrong and he'll be severely punished for it. He makes a mental note to speak to Emperor Akashi later on about that, he needs a believable excuse to escape that sort of conversation. Furihata brushes it off by saying that his husband is too busy with his duties to spend any personal time him. It sounded reasonable enough that they won't question his claim. He's a really terrible liar, so he truly hopes that his little white lie will satisfy them. They still appeared unconvinced, but didn't push for more definitive answers which he was grateful for. The emperor gracefully approached them and softly took the auburn eyed male by the hand to introduce himself to the others. He doesn't know how he feels about the six kings, they are a bit too intimidating for his cowardly nature to handle all on his own.

Lady Satsuki was nice, pretty and told him to come to her for any kind of advice that she said all of that with a wink. Lord Tatsuya is okay by his book, but a bit too mysterious and hangs around his husband a little too much. Once he finally got past the grumpy and prickly nature of Lord Yukio, he realized that the gray-blue eyed man is actually a really good guy. Too good to be tied down by his whiny, overbearing husband of his. Out of all the spouses, Furihata feels he gets along with Lord Tetsuya and Kazunari the best. He likes the quiet blunette very much because he can calm down if he ever gets used to the rather non-existent presence the man seems to possess. Lord Kazunari reminds him of his big brother, the loud overprotectiveness and cheerful grins gives him a sense of brotherly love that he had been desperately missing since his wedding. The dinner that night was a success since the kings managed to talk about whatever it is they need to discuss and the brunette made new friends that got rid of the isolation that grew in his heart. He picked at his food the whole time, he only ate a few bites to look invested in the grand feast that his husband put together. Auburn eyes gaze at the five other rulers as he anxiously sat next to the emperor throughout the entire meal. The lump he felt earlier in the mirror room returned as he watched the couples interact. King Aomine and Lady Satsuki had known each other since they were children, so they argue constantly like an old married couple. When the brash king isn't looking, she softly smiles at his idiotic antics. He stares at her like he doesn't deserve her and that she's the most beautiful woman in the world. King Murasakibara and Lord Himuro have an odd relationship, but it seems to work for them somewhat. They match in movements and behavior that they know what the other one needs, it was exciting to see for the first time. King Kise and Lord Yukio have an even stranger marriage than them that it looks like a one-sided love from the blond ruler's part. But, the gray-blue eyed male would know exactly what to say at the right moment. King Midorima and Lord Takao display a strong bond that makes him feel jealous. He spots the soft grin on the green haired ruler's face when he pretends that his husband's teasing bothers him while the gray eyed male understands his boundaries. The couple that possesses a perfect relationship out of all of them, full of love and support, is King Kagami and Lord Tetsuya. The redhead is calmed down by the blunette's presence and can read his expressions when no one else can't. The blue eyed male look happier and more open with his emotions as well. He swallowed the large lump in his throat as he grip his kimono as he questions if he can ever find a love as strong as his new friends'; but, he can't have that with a controlling and violent husband.

"Kouki, you'll stay in my chambers for the week. This is so that no one knows you stay in the cells." The emperor tells him on the way to the crimson haired male's bedroom.

"O-Okay….everyone was nice and welcoming. I think I get along best with Tetsuya-San and Kazu." He felt like he had to say something in order to fill the uncomfortable silence between them.

A raised eyebrow, "Oh? You received permission to call them so familiarly. Excellent work."

The brunette sighs in relief, "T-Thank you, My Lord. I was only doing what any good husband should do."

"I should let you know that we're only married because you can speak to dragons. Although Tetsuya and Shintarou have the same ability, I need someone with that talent by my side as a spouse." Those words were cold as ice and implanting knives in Furihata's heart.

"Of course…..I understand, My Lord." He submissively agrees as they walk into the chambers and tries to keep himself from shedding a single tear from that awful talk they had.

Is this his marriage from now on?


To Be Continued