I hope you'll like this chapter ~ feedback is very much appreciated


"We do not remember days, we remember moments, and the richness of life lies in the memories we have forgotten."

Chapter Two

"Sei! What are you doing?" The cheerful voice of a ten year old boy asked, as he entered the tea room dressed in a green yukata.

Seijuurou put the brush aside and turned to look at the boy who sat himself beside him, eyes gleaming with curiosity. A small smile tugged at his lips.

He picked the brown tea cup up and placed it in front of the brunette. "I was practicing making tea. Would you like to taste, Kouki?" He nodded almost instantly and lifted the cup to his lips.

"How was it?"

Kouki eyed the cup quizzically, it was certainly delicious, but there was something different about the way it tasted. Seijuurou was getting rather impatient waiting for an answer, he unconsciously narrowed his dichromatic eyes at the puzzled brunette.

But before he could say anything, Kouki left his index finger in the air, like he had just found an amazing discovery. "Ah, I got it!" He said and turned to look at Seijuurou, who raised his eyebrow at him, not sure of what Kouki meant. "Cinnamon! You put cinnamon in there, didn't you?"

Seijuurou looked a bit surprised, but soon returned to his composed self. "Yes I did. I happen to find the taste of cinnamon in hot drinks quite pleasant, don't you think?"

"Yes! It tasted really good! Maybe I'll start adding cinnamon to my tea as well," Kouki said, grinning at Seijuurou who let out a fond sigh.

His smile was almost blinding.

...

"NO! DON'T OPEN IT!" Seijuurou heard a familiar voice shout at him. But it was already too late...

The big golden box which was laid in the middle of the room was now opened, the lid thrown somewhere on the floor as a bright light filled the place. Out of shock, Seijuurou fell to the ground, his hand were shaking and eyes widened. He did not mean to...This wasn't supposed to happen...

Twelve shadows flew outside the box, circling just above Seijuurou. He could hear their sinister laughs as some of them flew too close to his body. Each time one of the shadows touched him, he would feel a painful burn jolting throughout his body.

"Stay away from him!"

He could hear Kouki's voice but couldn't quite locate him. His vision was blocked by the swirling shadows around his body. It was getting harder and harder to endure the pain as he hugged himself and tried to keep himself out of harm's way.

He felt scared...

But all of a sudden, the sinister laughs turned into wails of agony, and the darkness that once surrounded him began to clear. When he lift his head, he saw Kouki standing before him, the shadow's disappearing within him like his body was some sort of a black hole.

When all the shadows were gone, Kouki dropped to his knees. His breathing was labored and his arms were shaking under his weight.

"Kouki!" Seijuurou quickly stood up and ran to Kouki's side, placing both his hands on his shoulders, trying to balance him a little. "Are you okay?!" He asked, hurriedly, voice thick with worry. The boy in his arms nodded as he flashed him a tired smile.

"I'm sorry...I didn't-" He was stopped by a finger placed on his lips. Kouki shook his head and kept that smile on his face as he got up, he stumbled once but regained his balance and stood up firmly, as if assuring Seijuurou he was fine.

He extended his hand to Seijuurou, urging him to take it. And he did.

"Don't worry. I'll always protect you, Sei..."

Seijuurou woke up abruptly, heart beating fast, lungs deprived of air, hands clenching on the on the material of his blankets. His cheeks were wet, tears were flowing out in streams wetting his pillow.

He sat in his bed, taking large gulps of air in long gasps.

It was that dream once again...

But it wasn't his, nor were the tears. After all, the one in the dreams had mismatched eyes of red and gold. Those were his dreams...

Seijuurou has always been aware that within his body resided another him. He regarded his other self as a younger brother of some sorts. And while they were both strong willed and strived to be the best, his other self was much colder and had less tolerance for disrespect; going as far as claiming he was absolute.

His younger brother wasn't one to show weakness openly and yet whenever those dreams occur, tears of fear, regret, sadness would freely stream down his face and his heart would ache with such longing. Longing for the person in those dreams, longing for...Kouki.

Even though Seijuurou had questioned his other self about the truth behind those dreams through their shared link of subconscious, he never got a solid reply. Rather the shared dream is always a subject he'd avoid.
"You would rather remain oblivious to the truth." He would always say.

Seijuurou was never an overly curious person. But he couldn't help but wonder if those dreams, which seemed like distant memories, were real...and couldn't help but be interested in the person haunting his thoughts.

...

Furihata stifled a yawn as he quickened his pace a bit to keep up with his brother.

The two of them were walking towards the school. It was only a ten minute walk from the station, so they usually took the train instead of Kasamatsu's car. The duo were surrounded by students who would occasionally stop and greet them. Despite being an overall strict teacher, Kasamatsu was loved by many students; he was one of the few teachers they could confine to and he always pushed them to be their best.

Furihata just smiled politely at each greeting, not finding enough energy in himself to be his cheerful self that day. He couldn't get a wink of sleep last night.
Each time he did, he couldn't help but recall the events of last night, his encounter with the red haired teen in particular.

"Senpaaaaaai!" a loud, high pitched voice took him out of his trance. Kasamatsu stopped in his tracks as his shoulders instantly tensed.

Furihata could hardly hide his snickers as he watched a six foot tall man crash with his brother in what you would call a hug. Kasamatsu groaned before he attempted to push the blonde male away from him, but to no avail. He finally lifted his suitcase and plunged it into the taller man's head.

"Senpai is so mean!" he whines, rubbing his abused head.

"Like I care, idiot! Stop being so loud in the morning," Kasamatsu yells and resumes walking in a slightly faster pace.

"Good morning, Furihatacchi," The blonde greets Furihata as the two walk right beside Kasamatsu.

"Good morning, Kise-sensei," He greeted back with a smile. There was something about Kise that always managed to give you energy, his cheerfulness was almost contagious.

Kise returned his smile and resumed attacking Kasamatsu with questions about his day while the later answered through tired sighs. Well maybe not everyone would be affected by the brightness of the blonde's mood, he believed his brother was already immune to his personality.
The two were senpai and kouhai back in high school and attended the same college. It was a pure coincidence that Kise started working at the same school with Kasamatsu, or so he says.

Even though Kise's tacky personality often clashes with his brother's, they have been friends for a long time and often spent their day offs together.

"Look out!"

Furihata didn't have the time to register what was happening before he was pulled out of a speedy motorcycle's way, barely in time. He could feel the gush of wind as the motorcycle drove by. Any more, and he would have...he shook his head. He really was out of it this morning. He glanced up to find himself in Kise's arms. The man breathed a sigh of relief as he helped Furihata to his feet. "T-that was close!"

"Y-yeah," Furihata replied sheepishly not really sure of what to say. "Thank you, sensei,"

"What's wrong with him driving so fast in a busy street?!" Kasamatsu asked to no one in particular, his free hand turning into a fist. If he wouldn't be late for his class, he would have hunt that driver down and forced him to quit driving one way or another. "Are you sure you're okay?" Kasamatsu's tone changed to one of worry as he looked at Furihata. He nodded.

"Just a bit tired I guess. But I'm totally fine!" He assured his brother, who looked unconvinced.

"You're not allowed to work the late night shift again. You need your sleep!" Kasamatsu said firmly. "And today we're going back together to celebrate. We still have those cakes from the shop, right?"

Before Furihata could say anything, Kise butted into their conversation. "Eh? There's cake? I want some too!" His eyes were sparkling at the mention of cakes.

"No one invited you!"

"But parties are more fun the more people are involved, ne Furihatacchi?" Kise said ignoring Kasamatsu.

"Oi!"

"Yes! You're welcome to come at any time!" Furihata said smiling at the taller male. Kise let out what could only be described as a squeal as he hugged Furihata causing him to giggle.

"Let's have fun and celebrate!" The duo marched together to school ignoring the protests of Kasamatsu.

Furihata had to admit, teasing his brother was fun.

...

Furihata settled down in his desk by the window. He greeted Fukuda who was seated next to him and soon enough they were joined by Kawahara, who yawned his way into class.

"Gooood morning,birthday boy~" Takao's voice sounded as he casually draped a hand around Furihata's shoulders. Furihata turned to look at the black haired boy who was grinning at him.

"Good morning, Takao-kun,"

"Oh yeah, it's Furi's birthday today! Wanna hang out today?" Kawahara said, finally taking his seat behind Furihata.

"I'm celebrating with Yukio-nii today, so another time, maybe," Furihata said, apologetically.

Before they could further discuss the matter, their homeroom teacher entered the class. Almost instantly, the class became quiet and everyone returned to their seat. Furihata too settled in his seat and glanced at the teacher who was readying himself to give an announcement of some sort. For some reason, Furihata felt unsettled.

"I know it's far off into the semester, but today we have a new student joining us for the remaining of the year," He spoke and motioned for the figure standing outside the room to enter.

Furihata's heart almost stopped.

There, in front of him, stood the young man he'd encountered yesterday. The redhead seemed to notice his presence and turned to face him and gave a small smile. Furihata wished he could somehow disappear, be anywhere but the classroom right now. When he had said tomorrow, he actually meant it.

"I'm Akashi Seijuurou." The young man introduced himself with a small bow. "I've been living in Kyoto until recently, but had to move because of...personal reasons," He continued, his eyes settling upon Furihata as he spoke of the last couple of words.

Furihata's mortified expression only deepened when Akashi moved in his direction and stood beside his seat, his eyes fixated not on him but at Fukuda who was seated next to him. His left eye flashed gold.

"You wouldn't mind giving up your seat, now would you?" His gaze was so intense that Fukuda trembled at the cold stare. Akashi's tone wasn't inquiring but merely demanding. Soon enough, Fukuda left his seat in a haste and sat at the back of the class behind Kawahara.

Akashi sat in his new seat then looked to his left and offered his "seat mate" another smile, this time his eyes were back to red. Furihata quickly turned to look away and depated for a second if it was possible to escape from his two-storey window.

He might have gotten himself a serious stalker.

...

After the whole situation with Akashi's arrival was settled, the atmosphere was back to normal within the class. Akashi didn't make any attempt to speak to him during class or in the five minutes of break they had between classes. But, he knew by the look in Akashi's eyes that he wanted to have a talk with him, probably to continue what they were discussing yesterday.

Yeah, that weird talk about sharing the same fate.

The bell signalled the end of the class and the beginning of their lunch break. Furihata never knew he could move this fast, maybe the basketball practice he's done with his brother did come in handy, he was out of class within the minute, Takao following close behind.

"Are you in that much of a hurry to start committee duties?" Takao asked as the two walked down the hallway leading to the library.

"Y-yeah! I need to get my mind off of something," It wasn't entirely a lie, he just wanted to leave the room before Akashi had a chance to say anything.

The two were part of the library committee, or Furihata was and Takao had decided to tag along once the two became friends. Furihata was surprised by that as, aside from shounen manga, Takao wasn't so keen on reading, yet he always went with him whenever the two were on duty. He would return the borrowed books to their places on the shelves, never allowing Furihata to assist, instead he would tell him to enjoy his reading.

Furihata always felt guilty about leaving Takao to do all the work while he only read books, but Takao long assured him that he isn't bothered in the least.

Because of that he was allowed a moment of peace in the library...

...or so he thought.

"I didn't expect you to run so fast, Furihata-kun," Furihata audibly gasped as he saw the redhead standing in front of the library's door. "I have already learned of your routine and activities, you won't be able to escape me so easily," His tone had a hint of amusement.

"How did you-"

"I find it irritating when I'm ignored so openly. I only wish to talk," Akashi said, annoyance clear in his tone.

Furihata was still skeptical, but nodded his head at Akashi. It seemed there was no escaping this, the sooner it's done the sooner he'll be able to put this matter behind.
He turned to look at the confused Takao. "Takao-kun, would you mind going ahead? I'll follow you shortly," Takao looked reculent to leave for a second, before stealing a glance at Akashi who had his eyes narrowed.

"Fine," He said with a sigh. "Take your time to talk, I'll be waiting inside," and with that he disappeared inside the library, leaving Akashi and Furihata alone in the hallway.

An awkward silence stretched...

"I...must apologize," Akashi broke the silence. "I didn't mean to frighten you, yesterday."

Furihata was startled by Akashi's apology that he remained silent. The shock must have been evident on his face because Akashi just looked at him and sighed.

"You don't have to look so scared. I won't harm you. It's the opposite in fact, I wish for you to never be harmed again," when Furihata looked confused he continued, "You do remember what I said yesterday, right? Whatever injuries you'd sustain would be transferred to me,"

All of a sudden, Furihata was aware of the bandage on the redhead's right hand. He grabbed his own as he was reminded by what happened yesterday. Akashi's wounds looked so much like his and his completely disappeared.

But who could believe such a thing was possible? After all, things like this only existed in the books he so often read.

"I-I don't know how did that happen, but such a thing is impossible! Is this a trick or something? Or is it some kind of a sick joke?" Furihata said, still gripping his right hand tightly.

Akashi only glared.

"I don't think anyone would want to be harmed for a trick, and I'm not exactly fond of jokes," The coldness in his tone sent shivers down Furihata's back. He could feel his resolve wavering a little.

There really was no reason for anyone to hurt themselves for such a thing...but the other possibility didn't make any sense. Why would he and another person he never saw before share the same fate in such a way?

Before Furihata could begin to ask anything else, he was interrupted by a loud smash. On reflex, Furihata shielded his eyes by his left arm and yelped in pain when some of the glass shards pierced through his uniform.

"Kouki!" Akashi's worried voice made him open his eyes. Akashi was next to him, seemingly unharmed. "Are you okay?" He asked hurriedly, grabbing him by the shoulders. Furihata was startled by the gesture that all he could do was nod weakly at him. The redhead's shoulders visibly relaxed, his left eye returning to its original red color.

The glass window to his left was completely shattered. Furihata glanced at the football near his feet which was likely that cause of the whole ordeal. Whoever threw the ball, was in for a serious scolding.

"We better go get your wounds cleaned, Furihata-kun," Akashi said pointing to the brunette's left arm. The fabric of the uniform covering his arm was now a shade darker as it was soaked with blood. The pain was there but it was dull.

Furihata nodded and started leading the two to the infirmary, which was conveniently close-by.

...

"Ouch!" Furihata winced at the pain, as the sterilized cotton touched his wounds. The man before him didn't seize his actions though until he was sure all the wounds were cleaned.

Midorima-sensei, which was the school's new nurse, had assured them the wounds were only superficial and didn't need to be stitched at the hospital. Furihata let out a sigh of relief, at least it wasn't something serious.

"How did this happen?" Midorima's deep voice asked as he finished wrapping the brunette's arm.

"The hallway window near the library was smashed by a football...I think," Furihata answered. Midorima stood from his seat and made his way to the door.

"I'll have to inform the dean about this. You two stay here," He said, but before he fully exited the door he turned around to look at them. "I-If you need more bandages, they're in the first drawer," he adjusted his glasses and was gone, closing the door behind him.

The room fell in silence. Furihata could feel Akashi's burning gaze on him. Akashi's fingers ran down the brunette's bare chest and stopped just above where his heart was. His fingers were cold to the touch which made Furihata squirm a bit, his cheeks turning scarlet. Akashi sighed.

"It's still not over yet, huh?" He said, removing his fingers from Furihata's skin. He blinked in confusion.

"Why do you mean?" Akashi said nothing but motioned for him to look in the mirror.

Furihata's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the reflection of his exposed chest. Just above where his heart was supposed to be was, what it seemed like, a tattoo of a six-petaled sakura flower. His fingers ran on the reflection of the flower. He certainly didn't remember getting anything tattooed on his body, if anything Kasamatsu would be furious if he did.

"I have the same mark," Akashi said abruptly, showing him his left wrist. True to his words, the same flower was on wrist. What was it with those marks? And why did they appear so suddenly?

"They represent the number of misfortunes we would encounter," Akashi explained, sensing Furihata's inner thoughts. "You have six petals, and I have six. This means we would encounter twelve misfortunes before your next birthday. Since none of our petals disappeared, it means we have still to overcome our first misfortune."

Before Furihata could say anything, Akashi continued. "Listen to me, Furihata. You are now a magnet for disasters. You noticed right? You've been encountering mishap after mishap since the beginning of the day,"

Furihata's hand clenched at the material of his loose t-shirt. The cat, the motorcycle this morning and now this. "Y-you mean to tell me these things aren't...coincidental?"

"I'm afraid they're not. This is a curse. One that you and I share," A curse, what did he mean by that?

Akashi was about to say something when his hand suddenly gripped on his left arm, a groan left his lips through gritted teeth and his eyes were shut tightly. He looked like he was in pain. Furihata's eyes darted to his left arm, Akashi's hand that was gripping the material of his uniform was crimson in color. He came to the belated conclusion that he was bleeding.

"Akashi-kun!" He stood from his seat and removed Akashi's hand that was gripping a little too tightly on his arm. He didn't protest as Furihata removed his jacket. He gasped when he saw the white shirt's sleeve was dyed in dark red. "What happened? Why didn't you say you got hurt?"

"I didn't," Akashi simply stated. "Those are yours," his tone was composed.

"Eh?" Furihata didn't know what else to say. He took notice that the pain in his left arm was no longer there. This couldn't be...could it? "T-this is not the time! We need to get them treated. Where did Midorima-sensei go?" Furihata cursed under his breath when the bottle of sterilizer he was reaching for fell to the ground. He only stared at the bottle, his body trembling.

Even though such things were only supposed to occur in fantasy books, it happened in real life, right before his eyes and twice in one day. He could no longer brush it off as a prank or an illusion of an eye. He couldn't stop shaking, the weight of the situation finally sinking in his heart. If he got hurt, it was Akashi who would bear the most pain.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry," he said with a faint voice.

Akashi looked at the form of the brunette hunched before him. He couldn't blame Furihata for not believing him immediately, he himself couldn't quite accept it as the truth until the incident with the cat. He had been so reculent to the thought of sharing someone's fate in this way, but when the young man before him apologized for hurting him, even though it's something he had no control over, he couldn't help but let a fond smile play at his lips. "Don't apologize, it's not your fault,"

Furihata looked up, startled at the kind tone the redhead spoke with.

"Do you still believe it's a joke?" He heard him ask. Furihata shook his head. "Good. Because from now on, I'll need you to trust me, if we want to survive this curse together," Akashi continued and stretched his right hand for a handshake. Furihata stared at his hand before he took it in his own, nodding his head.

Akashi's face lit up with a smile as he noticed Furihata was no longer shaking. The brunette just stared at him with widened eyes. This smile was different from the other ones he's seen as it looked more genuine.

He couldn't help but think of how familiar it was...

...

"Midorimacchi!"

Midorima looked startled for a second before he composed himself after recognizing the voice. He turned to look up at the blonde teacher who was floating in mid air, before landing softly on the roof near the green haired man.

"Kise,"

"What are you doing here?" Midorima only looked up front and through the small window of his infirmary in the building across from theirs. Kise followed his gaze and noticed the two figures handshaking. "So they already met, huh?" Midorima only nodded.

"You're far from careful, Kise. Refrain from flying in broad daylight, we can't risk anyone seeing you," Midorima said, fixing the blonde with a glare. Kise raised his hands defensively.

"I got it, don't worry. Nobody saw a thing," Midorima didn't look convinced but let the matter slide.

"Also, you're getting too involved. Don't do anything reckless like this morning." Kise's eyes turned serious as he remembered the motorcycle from this morning.

"Like you're one to talk, Midorimacchi! You had Takaocchi keep an eye on him, didn't you?" Midorima adjusted his glasses before turning to stare before him once again.

"Takao has nothing to do with this. I'm telling you because we are only here as observers, don't get too involved,"

"For now, we are," was Kise's answer as he watched as Furihata started wrapping the bandages around Akashi's arm. "How long do you think they'll last? They didn't even survive the forth misfortune last time,"

"I don't know...I would be fine with anything if it means avoiding that tragedy from happening again..." He said, his voice breaking at the end.

Kise stretched his arms above his head and sighed. "We'll only have to wait and see, after all it is our job to remain in this world until the end of all misfortunes,"

Midorima nodded, a sigh of his own escaping his lips, as he glanced at the oblivious two.

Truly, what a dreaded job they possessed.