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caroandlyn
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all that glitters
is not gold
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Part II
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(Past)
Ogiwara's hands are warm, so unlike Akashi's icy fingers or his own frigid skin. Kuroko craves the warmth, although he will never admit it—vampires are creatures of the night, grotesque monsters designed to provoke the terror of humans, and heat is something only the weak will want for.
"You look so serious," Ogiwara says, his face teasing, and Kuroko can only force a smile in return. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a walking corpse."
"Does Ogiwara-kun think so little of me?" Kuroko asks, tilting his head slightly, so that the bridge of his nose rests on the crook of the other boy's elbow. A few slow breaths, for show; for him, there is no use for breathing, because he sustains on human blood alone. "I'm hurt Ogiwara-kun would even think about comparing me to an undead."
"Hey, I didn't mean that seriously," Ogiwara snorts, and then releases a breathy laugh. "You're so pale it wouldn't matter anyways."
"And just because Ogiwara-kun's eyes are the same color as a witch's does not make him a demonic being," Kuroko says petulantly in response. He ignores his companion's muffled snort of laughter in favor of watching the fire flicker in front of him, dazzling sparks of gold sizzling into burnt ashes.
And the thing is, Ogiwara doesn't know. He looks at Kuroko with eyes filled with warmth and a teasing smile, and there is no accusing stare, no hardened frowns that whisper demon with hatred, no wooden stakes or garlic rings or twisted determined intent to kill.
Kuroko prefers this ignorance, encourages it, even. He thinks of past friendships and broken bridges, of laughs that became screams and affection turned hatred.
Humans are such fearful, fragile creatures. And perhaps that is the key part of their appeal, why vampires are so attracted to them for sustenance. There is strength in their weakness, resilience in their cowardliness, beauty in their demise.
Ogiwara, certainly, is not weak. He hugs Kuroko with well-muscled arms that speak of years of handling a heavy weapon, and runs as if he has been running for his entire life, lugging with him a plateful of armor that's easily more than Kuroko's entire body weight. Sometimes he even will chase after wolves or panthers, bringing back pelts big enough to be fashioned into capes and enough meat to feed his family for weeks.
But when they lie together in the comfort of Ogiwara's tent, Ogiwara's thin neck exposed in the dim light of the fire, Kuroko thinks how easily he could snap it right then and there, how Akashi wouldn't even hesitate before his best friend was drained and dead and gone.
"There's a girl I like," Ogiwara confides to Kuroko one morning, his cheeks flushed a faint shade of cherry red in the morning chill, "I think you'll like her too, Kuroko."
Kuroko freezes, and then returns to reality. "I'm glad, Ogiwara-kun," he says, trying a strained smile. Ogiwara doesn't seem to notice, his eyes still glossed over with the vision of his sweetheart. "If someone like Ogiwara-kun can find a girlfriend, there is hope for all of us out there."
"Hey," Ogiwara laughs, lightly punching his shoulder. The touch stings, as painful as steel or holy water. "That's not very nice of you to do, hitting someone where they're weakest."
"But it's all true," Kuroko retorts, and they fall back into their old routine just like that. Ogiwara feigns affront a few more times, before they are both exhausted with the spiel and turn to other things.
"I already talked with her father yesterday, regarding the bride-price," Ogiwara admits, making a face at the mention of a dowry. "He likes me, though, so it isn't all that bad. I think I'll ask her to marry me soon."
"Introduce me to the girl sometime," Kuroko says, choking down something bitter that rises from his throat. "And if Ogiwara-kun does not invite me to the wedding, I will never forgive him."
"I will, definitely. You're going to be my best man, after all," Ogiwara says, putting a hand over Kuroko's shoulder. Kuroko wants to tear away from the touch, wants to run away and never look back. He stays still instead. "Obviously, that's only if this is fine with you."
And that's the thing that makes Kuroko so frustrated, how Ogiwara can be so kind and considerate and yet say those words so blatantly to his face.
"Of course," Kuroko says, lowering his head. If he were a weaker man, a mortal, perhaps he would have shed a few tears, but for him there is no excuse for not exercising restraint. "I look forward to it."
"That's great!" Ogiwara grins, enveloping him in a tight embrace. For once, the feel of the other boy is not warm, but chilly. "I'll tell you all the details later, after we arrange it. Thanks for being the best friend—no, brother—in this world."
"Perhaps Ogiwara-kun should save his flattery for his wife," Kuroko says purposefully, and the sound of Ogiwara's laughter is almost enough to drown out his own despair.
"Where were you, Kurokocchi?" Kise asks later, childishly. He wraps his arms around Kuroko's neck, nuzzling his head against his shoulder. "I missed you so much!" And then, as if in afterthought, he adds, "Oh yeah, and Akashicchi was looking for you earlier."
Kise is cold, and the chill seems to seep in through Kuroko's clothes, wrapping him in a shroud of ice. Kuroko hurriedly burrows himself out of the younger boy's embrace, ignoring Kise's dramatic pouts at the rebuff; other things must take priority first, ahead of Kise's silly games.
"When was Akashi-kun looking for me?" Kuroko asks, peering around the surroundings. Perhaps, if it was only just earlier, Akashi would still be in the reaches of the encampment, and Kuroko's absence would only cause a few raised eyebrows at most.
"Oh, about midday or so, I think," Kise says, and Kuroko's heart sinks immediately. It is late afternoon now at the very least, if he were to be generous, and any chance of Kuroko's mysterious disappearances staying discreet is gone.
"Do you know where Akashi-kun is right now?" Kuroko asks, trying not to show his alarm. There are always excuses he can provide for his leaves: a midday snack, a craving for thrill, even a secret rendezvous with Momoi, who will surely back up his words (although for a price; she may harbor affections towards him, but nothing is ever free). Any of those options are more believable than what he has truly been up to, and Kuroko likes to think that they will be enough to convince Akashi.
But Akashi is intelligent. He will surely note the discrepancy in Kuroko's lies, the fear in Kuroko's eyes when he speaks. He will know that something is wrong, and stoop to all means to find the truth. If he looks hard enough, he will find out about Ogiwara and the daily meetings, and Ogiwara will surely be killed—and it will all be Kuroko's fault.
Kise doesn't seemed to note Kuroko's current emotional state. "Oh, I saw him with Midorimacchi in the woods just a while ago. You made him worried, you know. He went all over trying to find you—"
Kuroko doesn't bother listening to Kise finish. He is already speeding in the direction of the woods, because every second that passes is a second where Akashi becomes closer to finding the truth, and that is an outcome he can never allow to happen.
He arrives at his destination a few minutes later, slightly winded from the speed of travelling. The woods are as dark and unsettling as ever, thick vines creeping over trees and and hanging from branches, tall birch trees blocking out any trace of sunlight in the forest floor. Kuroko has lured at least a dozen hapless youth into their dooms here, discarding their bodies into its deepest depths afterwards. Their rotting flesh will fertilize a new generation of trees and animals, and their blood will supply himself with enough fuel to survive another day; in a morbidly ironic way, he trades a few lives for the livelihoods of many.
But he is not here today to sacrifice a human life, but to save one. With new determination, he makes his way through the vines, ignoring the unsettling feeling that he is being watched.
It is a fruitless search, at first. The woods cover a large expanse of swampy terrain, which makes it hard for him to travel at fast speeds, and he is already tired from his travel to here. He resorts to clambering over rotting logs and mud-covered rocks like a human, pausing every now and then to listen for any sign of sound, of Akashi.
A sudden rustling noise behind him startles him, and Kuroko whips around, only to be faced with the retreating figure of a bat. It flies away into the deep foliage, its dark color melting away as if it had never been there in the first place.
An icy cold hand grips around his mouth the next moment, cold fangs brushing against his neck. "It is not like you to be so careless like this, Tetsuya," a voice whispers silkily, and the fangs pierce into his skin.
Black ichor flows out of the laceration at once, and Akashi drinks it with gusto, lapping at the skin even when wound has fully healed. Kuroko stills, trembling but refusing to look at the man behind him.
"You're rather distracted today," Akashi commentates after he's had his fill, ghosting his fingers over Kuroko's chin and amusing himself with tendrils of stray hair. "One would almost think that you're... hiding something from me."
"Akashi-kun thinks too much," Kuroko says flatly. He forces an cold, irritated expression on his face, one practiced from years of dealing with Kise and Aomine and the like. "Release me this moment."
Akashi seems almost amused by his reaction, like Kuroko is nothing but a child play-acting, easily seen through by wiser men. He scrapes his fangs against the lobe of Kuroko's ear, sending sharp prickling sensations down his spine, but acquiesces to Kuroko's demand.
Kuroko tears himself from Akashi's grasp, staring accusingly at the other man. For a brief moment, he forgets about Ogiwara, too lost in crimson eyes and mocking smiles.
"Don't look at me like that," Akashi says, voice suave as ever as he crosses his arms. "Weren't you the one looking for me in the first place?"
Those words shake Kuroko jarringly back into reality, and he widens his eyes slightly before he can help himself. "Kise-kun mentioned that you were trying to find me," he says, finally, trying to find the right words to say. "I thought that I might save you the trouble."
Akashi laughs darkly. "So you do care about me, after all, Tetsuya," he murmurs, something unreadable flashing in his eyes. "But of course. We are lovers, are we not?"
Somehow Kuroko's mind flashes back to Ogiwara's sunny smile and his warm hands, and then this, Akashi's cold gaze and frigid fingers.
"Unless," Akashi continues, carefree, "there's someone else?"
Kuroko freezes.
—there's a girl I like, I think you'll like her too, Kuroko—
"Ah," Akashi says, and there is a melancholy quality to his expression before it hardens into something else completely. "So my premonition was right."
He steps forward, and without meaning to, Kuroko steps backward in turn. Then suddenly his hand is on Kuroko's throat, squeezing tighter and tighter and hurts it hurts stop no don't—
"Who is it?" Akashi whispers, all while liberally applying more pressure to Kuroko's throat. "If you tell me now, perhaps I'll consider sparing his pathetic little life."
Kuroko closes his eyes tightly (maybe if he keeps them closed for long enough he can pretend it's just a bad dream) and thinks of Ogiwara's laughter.
—I think I'll ask her to marry me—
Akashi tires of the farce after a while, releasing his grip and allowing Kuroko to collapse onto the floor. "I did warn you," he says lightly. "It doesn't have to happen like this."
Kuroko pushes against the ground, standing up unsteadily so that he matches Akashi's gaze. He is not afraid of Akashi, only the potential consequences of angering him; but it is already too late and does he really care?
"Akashi-kun is too rash in his actions," Kuroko says slowly, watching as the bruises on his neck go from a mottled purple to a blotchier brown shade (like the color of Ogiwara's eyes, he thinks morbidly). "There is no such lover." Ogiwara will never look at him like that, he knows, but why does it hurt so much? "Only you." The discoloration clears away, until only the pale white stretch of skin on his neck remains.
And in the end, that is still the bitter truth. Kuroko watches Akashi scan his face and see only open-faced honesty, and for some reason he tastes the burnt flavour of defeat on his tongue.
Akashi reaches his hand out, as impetious as ever, and draws Kuroko in for a violent kiss of teeth and tongue and blood. Akashi tastes like ash and dust, and he is all too eager to bite until Kuroko's mouth is red and raw.
"It seems I have misjudged you," Akashi says finally, wetting his lips after he has finished his violation of Kuroko's mouth. He dabs at Kuroko's chin with a slender finger, licking off the excess ichor with a satisfied expression. "You have yet to betray me, Tetsuya. My dearest apologies."
Kuroko wants to snap at him, throttle his throat and return the favor a hundred fold. His mind freezes, until all he can think of is Akashi's mocking smile and sharp eyes, and something like rage lurks dangerously in the depths of his mind.
"Leave," Kuroko says coldly, the lacerations in his mouth closing until there is only a mouthful of blood clouding his taste. He spits out the black liquid onto the floor, wiping away the remnants on his chin with an arm. "I don't wish to see your face anymore, Akashi-kun."
"Are you refusing me, Tetsuya?" Akashi asks, suddenly dangerous again. He grabs both of Kuroko's shoulders simultaneously, his fingers digging into flesh painfully. "Don't forget to whom you owe your life to."
"I told you to leave," Kuroko says again, and there is already too much pain in his life for him to care about Akashi's threats.
Akashi raises a hand, as if to strike him, but then stops himself abruptly. "Very well, then," he says, and he is gone too quickly for Kuroko to see the conflicting emotion on Akashi's face.
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