Chapter 2 – Melancholia
10 years earlier.
Small pale fingers carefully touched the palace window in the hopes of somehow getting closer to the snowy landscape outside. Adorning the small boys head were soft locks of light blue hair and eyes to match, brimming with curiosity and innocence.
Kuroko was 8 years old when his mom brought out the fairy-tale book for the first time.
It was tradition that the royal children educated themselves about the gods from a very young age. Kuroko was no exception to the rule.
His mom had tippy-toed to reach the book on one of the highest shelves in the royal library. Kuroko could still remember the old worn out leather binding, and the gold-inscribed letters on the front – the book had always fascinated him, yet, he had never been allowed to touch it. Not until now.
"Come my child." His mom had called, and Kuroko tore his attention away from the snowy landscape almost immediately. "Let me tell you a story. A story of the gods."
Kuroko shuffled onto his mother's lap, eyes glued to the cover with the same curiosity he had previously awarded the snow. "The gods?" He asked - voice small and frail.
"Not just any god, Tetsuya." His mom chuckled warmly as she lovingly brushed long bangs out of her son's eyes. "The god of victory, Akashi."
Kuroko tried to reproduce the god's name, forming the syllables slowly in his mouth, yet he still struggled with the right pronunciation.
"Listen carefully, Tetsuya, it is important you understand what I'm about to tell you."
And his mother started telling the story, her voice as warm and loving as if she told any other normal story.
"Akashi, the god of victory, was one of the first gods to appear upon these lands." She started. "Akashi was a merciful god. Though being the god of victory, he still found great pleasure in the spirit of competition and granted his powers upon anyone respecting its virtues."
Kuroko's bright blue eyes scanned the first page in the book carefully. Depicted on the old paper were flames in nuances of red, orange and yellow, framing big black capital letters.
"The symbol representing Akashi has always been fire." She explained. "Tetsuya, what do you think fire represents?"
Kuroko contemplated the question for a few seconds. "Warmth?"
"Warmth, passion, sexuality, inspiration." His mother added, sending her son a small smile, knowing he did not currently grasp the full meaning behind all of the words. "But also equal measures of destruction and hate. You see, Akashi did not keep being the merciful generous god the land loved and respected."
"He did not?" Kuroko asked, clearly intrigued by the story.
His mother let out a soft sigh, before her features softened once more. "No, he did not." She started, sadness lacing her voice. "He became jaded. Consumed by the pursuit of glory, fame and victory in everything." His mother flipped to the next page. On the page were the very same flames as before; now primarily enveloped in a harsh bright yellow color, licking aggressively across the page in one big mess of color and sharp shapes. "His greed..." Her voice trailed off. "Turned him to embrace qualities of hatred, hatred towards man. Shove away the warmth and passion he had previously held dear. He became a completely different god."
Kuroko sensed distance in her voice, and tugged caringly at her sleeve, but his mother was already caught up in the past.
"You seem to be lost."
A hand was outstretched towards her – long slim digits inviting, yet she did not take the offer. She had been freezing a few minutes ago, but with the arrival of this new person, the unfamiliar scary caves became oddly warm. She used her sleeve to wipe the remnant of tears from her eyes, an effort to appear strong now that she was not alone, before speaking up in the most confident voice she could muster:
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."
She remembered him clearly: the fiery red hair, the deep red caring eyes, and the warm smile that slowly tugged onto his seemingly soft lips. He was a handsome man, even the young girl could tell that much.
"Your parents have taught you well" He chuckled mildly. "Come." He withdrew his hand and walked past her with the quiet elegance of a king. "You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to. I'll lead you to the exit."
She remembered watching his robes: They consisted of long black flowy garments, hanging loosely across his form. The deep open cut at his chest, allowed her a peek at the hardened muscles underneath, and the smaller girl withheld the need to blush in embarrassment.
However, the male did not seem to take offence.
She could not exactly explain why, but her instinct told her this person could be trusted. She was a small child and this was a male, at least double her age, yet, she could just tell from his eyes that he had no ill intentions towards her.
She grabbed onto the ends of his robes for comfort, as he led her towards the exit.
"What is your name?" she finally mustered the courage to ask.
A warm soft hand found hers, and this time around, she welcomed it.
"Akashi."
"Why did Akashi become mean like that?"
Kuroko's mother met her son's gaze. "You see, Tetsuya, sometimes life isn't easy… not even for gods." She explained. "Akashi met hardships like any other being in this world and because of that he did not stay the same." She sighed softly and continued; "And it isn't easy being a god." Kuroko blinked in slight confusion when she tapped his nose teasingly. "Gods may be divine beings, but they are in no way perfect, you have to remember that."
Kuroko nodded, clearly taking his mother's words to heart.
"Was A-Akashi lonely?" Kuroko asked innocently, still having trouble pronouncing the god's name.
"What makes you ask that?"
Kuroko looked down at the picture book once more, small childlike fingers brushing against the parchment as if it would somehow soothe the depicted flames on the page.
"Loneliness makes you sad."
Kuroko watched Akashi's back behind clear blue eyes. They did not hold the same childlike innocence as the Kuroko from 10 years back; yet, they still brimmed with the same curiosity.
He remembered his mom's words clearly. The tale. The warning words that followed once she closed the fairytale book.
'Do not ever approach the Rakuzan caves, Tetsuya, or you will never be able to leave.'
Kuroko still wondered what his mother had meant. He knew sacrifices were sent to the caves in an effort to gain Akashi's favor, but not what happened to them once they arrived. Kuroko had yet to bump into any of the previous sacrifices, so the bluenette could not help but fear the worst.
To make matters worse, he vividly remembered the majority of the young boys and girls who had previously been sent to the caves. They all tried to appear strong, determined, and happy to be chosen to serve their country with the ultimate sacrifice - their lives. However, Kuroko could always sense equal measures of fear and anxiety radiate from their shivering bodies.
He wished he could have done something.
He wished he was stronger.
The familiar face of the newest sacrifice snuck up on his mind, and he had to fight hard not to be overwhelmed with the feeling of guilt.
"You are quiet today."
Kuroko's bright blue eyes immediately rose to meet warm red and searing yellow. When Kuroko had first arrived in the caves, he could barely stand when meeting the god's gaze. Now, however, he was able to lead a full conversation with the divine being – the only thing distracting him, was consistent trembles and shivers, when Akashi got particularly emotional.
He preferred to stand strong against Akashi; to hell with the fact that he was regarded a lesser being by the laws of the universe.
"I've been thinking…" Kuroko announced, voice monotone. "I've been thinking about you and the sacrifices." He finished.
Kuroko caught the glimpse of slight amusement in the other's eyes. Kuroko was always taken aback by how the god gave him his full attention when they were conversing – it was such an intense feeling, which forced to overwhelm all of Kuroko's senses and send him into a state of total and utter awe… yet, he refused to bow down to the sensation like some peasant bowing to his emperor. He would fight it.
"What about them, Tetsuya?" The amusement still lingered at the back of Akashi's tongue as he spoke. "You worrying about them won't bring them back, no matter how good you believe your intentions are."
Kuroko swallowed harshly when his worst fears were confirmed. He clenched his fist tightly, frustrated, wanting nothing more than to punch some sense into the other, yet, he knew that would be foolish.
His little display of defiance would no doubt have no effect and probably be met by nothing more than mocking laughter. The helplessness creeped up on him and the bluenette struggled to keep his temper under control.
"What did you do to them?" Kuroko's voice dripped with disgust.
"Nothing your mind could fathom." The reply was instant.
"Try me, Akashi." He spat back, the bluenette's words more poisonous than he had initially intended them to be. "You might be surprised at how much humans can do if you just gave them a chance."
Akashi's lips tugged into a faint smile, and Kuroko braced himself when the god approached him with steady steps.
"You are succumbing to hate." The god spoke, voice as calm and firm as always. "I can feel it clearly as it flows through your body and mind."
Kuroko held the god's intense gaze in check, and he inhaled sharply to keep his body from trembling when the god stopped right in front of him – no more than half a meter from him.
"Isn't it a powerful feeling?" Akashi egged on, slight excitement lingering in his voice and overall demeanor. "Mortal emotions are fragile and fluctuating, yet yours seem to be particularly concentrated."
Kuroko's body suddenly started trembling harshly against his will when long slim fingers brushed against the exposed skin at his throat. The shiver went through every inch of his body when he felt the direct skin contact and the need for air grew with it. He desperately inhaled air into his lungs; yet, it still felt like it was not enough. The tip of Akashi's fingers felt warm and soft.
"Does it really make you hate me so much? Knowing that I was the reason so many mortal beings had to die?" Akashi's fingers slowly, but surely, closed around the milky white expanse of skin at Kuroko's throat until the digits were firmly pressed against Kuroko's pulse. "There are endless supplies of mortals, and I only take what is needed – why does that conflict with your inner moral compass?"
Kuroko stood as still as he could, as the sharp yellow eye peered down at him with an intensity he had never experienced before.
"You put meat into your mouth every day to feed your hunger, yet, I've never heard you feel any sorrow for the lives of animals cut short. Do you realize how hypocritical your point of view is? You only worry about a select few. To hell with the creatures whom you have no formal bond with. Do you realize, Tetsuya, that we are not so different from each other after all?"
Kuroko's chest clenched tightly and his breath had grown heavy from the persistent skin-to-skin contact with the god. Even though the fingers at his throat might have been enough to make most people fear for their lives, Kuroko was not afraid of the god. He was too consumed in the warmth as it washed over his body, sharpened his senses yet numbed them at the same time. He felt hypersensitive, in a delirious state where his train of thought was repeatedly cut short.
"W-what did you do to them?" Kuroko finally managed to speak up.
Another knowing smile tugged onto Akashi's lips in reply.
"I'm about to show you."
Both of Akashi's hands closed firmly around Kuroko's neck, and the effort to keep standing became harder and harder with every passing second.
"You are strong, Tetsuya, most people would have dropped to their knees a long time ago." A hint of pride was evident in his voice. "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't even need to touch them much, to have them fall into submission. However, you are very different in that regard."
Against Kuroko's own will, he slowly sunk to his knees in front of the god.
"That's it." Akashi spoke, praising.
However, Kuroko just felt belittled and mocked by the current situation. Him, on his knees in front of the god, as the warmth of fingers slowly withdrew from his neck.
The bluenette attempted to stand up again, but it felt like some supernatural force had him on his knees against his will, keeping him in check.
He refused to look up at the other. Instead, he looked straight ahead of him, into long flowy black garments and the peak of hardened muscles at Akashi's lower abdomen. Akashi had a textbook male body, and it was evident from the god's clothes that he did not particularly mind to flaunt what he had. He was lean and muscled and even though Kuroko had only seen the god, display his magical powers before, his body promised physical powers too.
"Look at me, Tetsuya."
Kuroko inhaled in surprise when a warm finger tilted his head up, and he was forced to peer into sharp yellow and the ambivalent warm red.
"All mortals have a speck of magic in them." Akashi spoke. "That is what I take."
Kuroko's eyes widened and he could feel the god bend down towards him.
"Some have less than a grain of magic in them, while others have enough to sustain me for years. Magic is the most concentrated in young adults - when their mortal bodies are at their prime. With the magic taken from them, their bodies decompose – like ash. No being, mortal or immortal, can continue to exist without magic."
Kuroko could feel the breath of the god linger against his face, and he did his best not to let it affect him. Their faces were terribly close now, and the sudden urge to touch the god, to erase the distance between them, washed across his body.
"You, Tetsuya, would no doubt be able to sustain me for quite some time if I decided to take your magic from you."
Kuroko flinched slightly when Akashi's fingers grasped gently around his jaw, and he let out a shaky breath.
"How can you tell that?" The bluenette breathed.
"Under normal circumstances, you would have succumbed to my magic a long time ago." Akashi's voice was low and soft. "And you would have given in to the desires tugging at your mortal body right now."
Kuroko did not want to face it or understand the needs filling his body. He wanted to touch the god, to run his fingers across Akashi's skin, feel the hardened muscles peaking from the open cut of garments across the god's chest. It was an overwhelming feeling. An innate need, a craving, a desire to have more skin-to-skin contact until he could finally clench the indescribable thirst forcing to choke him.
"W-why am I feeling this way?" Kuroko spoke, words shaky with disbelief. He had felt this way ever since he had met Akashi, but the feeling had grown with every passing day.
"You are in the company of a god; naturally, you would crave more of my magic."
Kuroko shut his eyes tightly when Akashi's grasp around his jaw tightened, and a powerful jerk made him look up at the god once more.
"You have become a leech, Tetsuya. You will grow hungrier, needier, until the hunger becomes unbearable. My aura will not be enough anymore, you will need my magic in a more concentrated form in order to survive. What do you intend to do once that happens? You can't fight the urge forever."
"I will." Kuroko spoke, trying to sound firm in order to convince the both of them. "I won't succumb to whatever this feeling is."
Akashi smiled, before a low chuckle rolled across his tongue and onto his lips. "Amusing." The grasp at Kuroko's jaw lessened, and the loss had the bluenette gasp softly. "If you manage to suppress the need, Tetsuya, I will immediately stop accepting sacrifices, how does that sound?"
Kuroko's eyes widened immediately and he looked up at the god with hope filling bright blue eyes.
"However, know that it is an impossible task." Akashi's yellow eye glinted. "But I'm sure that isn't of any worry to you."
