Day 1
"May I have the honour of going out with you?"
A smile adorned the shorter male's countenance, eyes downcast, embarrassed yet delighted.
"Then, please take care of me Akashi-kun…"
Akashi took Kuroko's hand in his, feeling equally delightful. Until he felt something evil which caused cold sweats to trickle down his spine.
"If that's so…"
The aura turned ominous in the blink of an eye and dark air emitted from Kuroko's being, growing bigger and bigger until it could engulf Akashi whole. A sinister grin carved the 'face' of the black shadow being where Kuroko once was, eyes white and empty and a scythe held near the redhead's neck.
"Are you willing to die…for me?"
It swung the scythe.
…..
For the second time in a row, Akashi woke with a start.
He panted and looked around, his hand frantically feeling his neck, making sure they're still intact. He gave his surrounding another sweeping glance and was relieved to find that he was still tucked in his futon and in his neat, tiny room. A deep breath of relief escaped him before the vivid image of his dream began to occupy his mind.
"Are you willing to die?"
Akashi sighed and massaged his temple.
"Why would I dream something like that?"
Just yesterday, Akashi had gotten an 'OK' from Kuroko for his confession. Life should be all rebounds and dunks now.
The redhead sighed and went to the bathroom to wash his face.
Speaking of great life, Akashi remembered the strange feeling he had felt yesterday after the confession – the sudden heaviness on his shoulders. He felt nothing now though.
I must have imagined it…
After washing up and getting ready, the redhead went to his phone on his study table, unlocking it and scrolled through any unread messages until the thought of his 'boyfriend' crossed his mind. They had exchanged their phone numbers after their new declared relationship and naturally, Akashi felt he should probably meet up with his new boyfriend at lunch to get to know each other better. So he sent a text to the phantom.
He got an instant reply.
Was he thinking to send me a text too?
'Good morning Akashi-kun. I feel great, thank you. Yes, I would like to meet you during lunch too. Looking forward to it then :)'
Akashi chuckled in amusement, particularly at the smiley face at the end. The phantom had a blank expression most of the time so a smile or two was refreshing. And that made Akashi's heart swelled with bliss (especially at the memory of the grateful sincere smile Kuroko had yesterday morning) and if he wasn't Akashi Seijuurou, he would be smiling like a love-struck idiot but this is Akashi Seijuurou and an Akashi does not do that.
Of course everything is going great. Kuroko accepted his confession even when they barely know each other – the phantom is quite the looker too. And not to mention, he piqued Akashi's interest – whose standard is probably not for the 'commoners' – but somehow Kuroko landed it well.
That dream didn't mean anything.
It was just a dream.
…..
"Good morning Midorima."
Midorima nodded in acknowledgement. "Good morning, Akashi."
"Has your roommate gone ahead of you?"
"As if. Takao has afternoon classes."
Akashi nodded absently and settled into a comfortable stride beside Midorima as the two walked the short walk to the campus. Midorima occasionally stole glances at the calm Akashi until he decided to just get it over with.
"Akashi."
Akashi hummed as a reply.
"Here's your lucky item: A cute ghost keychain. Sagittarius is in the last place today so please be careful."
A small ghost cartoon doll keychain dangled from the gripping tips of Midorima's fingers, but rather than the typical white, it was black with white eyes – and Akashi got the familiar tingling chills. He masked his discomfort with a grateful smile and took the keychain.
"Thank you…Midorima. That's very thoughtful of you."
Another silence draped over them once again and again, Midorima interrupted with a cough.
"What do you see in Kuroko Tetsuya anyway?"
THWACK!
Midorima gaped.
Akashi couldn't comprehend what had just happened. The next thing he knew, he was already on all fours on the ground with a sharp pain stabbing his nape and something hanging off of his head and interrupted the middle of his vision.
The sensations of feathers flapping his nape disappeared as soon as it came, the sounds of crows cawing soared higher into the sky, and left Akashi with some fallen black feathers and something stinky on top of his head.
"A-Akashi, are you alright?!"
"Midorima….What happened in the last 15 seconds approximately?"
"Urrr….rather than that, why don't we get rid of that thing on top of your head first….It stinks. And the fish's eye just popped out."
They went to the nearest convenience store to borrow the bathroom to clean up.
Midorima sighed once they were out, trying to understand the logic of what just happened.
"Are you sure you don't want to go back to the dorm?"
"It's fine. It was really shocking though. The crows actually crashed into my head. Could have broken my neck in the worst case scenario," Akashi sighed, drying his hair with his sport towel in his gym bag.
"Yeah, what are the chances that the two crows fought over a fishbone…and the said fishbone landed on your head instead."
Akashi released a small laugh, finding the whole situation to be amusing despite being a victim of a crow-fight. "If we tell the others, they probably wouldn't believe us."
Right when they were about to turn around a corner, someone ran by so fast they knocked Akashi off a few feet away from his original position beside Midorima, rolled a few times before landing on his side pathetically. Midorima gaped in horror again.
"Akashi!"
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" The culprit ran back again towards the fallen emperor, checking him frantically until Midorima came over.
"You're his friend right? I'm so sorry! I'm late for my interview so I have to go now. Can you check up on him? Thanks!"
Midorima hadn't even said anything but the person had already sprinted off at the speed of light.
Akashi would have his pride hurt so badly if he knew the person who knocked him off his feet was a mere petite lady with a short brown hair.
Nevermind that, Midorima should check if Akashi was still conscious.
When he turned back towards Akashi, the redhead was already sitting up and was looking into the distance, blinking every so often before he turned to Midorima with a neutral expression.
"I will go back to the convenience store to get some band-aids. I think I scraped my elbow…and face."
"Your nose is bleeding! Just go back to the dorm already!"
…..
At the far end corner of the cafeteria, Kuroko was playing with his light blue phone, flipping it upside down on the table while waiting for that one particular person that he had never expected he will ever be waiting for. Never even expected to ever be in a relationship with.
Not that it's a bad thing but Kuroko knows how invisible he can be. It still baffled him how he could capture anyone's attention – and from 'a prince' too, on top of that. But Kuroko takes what he can and sees no harm in dating the redhead anyway – except maybe it would mean goodbye to his 'invisibility' or even better, Akashi will outshine him so Kuroko could still remain in the shadows. Kuroko most certainly prefer the latter.
"Sorry for the wait, Kuroko."
Kuroko perked up at the familiar voice, feeling relieved though his blank expression barely gave it away except for the twinkle in his eyes. He jumped when he saw Akashi's state.
"A-Akashi-kun…"
There were three band-aids on Akashi's poor face – nose and the top and bottom of his right cheek – and another band-aid on his elbow, where a tear on his sleeves were clearly seen and some visible light red scraps on the side of his right hand. Despite the obviously troubled state he was in, Akashi paid no mind to it and proceeded to take a seat across Kuroko. Kuroko sweatdropped.
"What happened? You weren't like this yesterday right?"
Akashi chuckled in bitter amusement. "Yeah, for some reasons, one unlucky coincidence after another just keeps happening."
"This morning, I was attacked by crows then was knocked over by some guy in a rush and then – well, it's just too troublesome to explain right now," Akashi sighed and took a sip of the coffee he had just bought before looking at Kuroko with his trademark smile. "Nevermind that. I don't want to spend our time with stories of my unfortunate accidents. How are you Kuroko?"
Kuroko replied with a small smile of his own. "I'm okay. It's you that's worrying. You're making your fans cry with those wounds on your face Akashi-kun."
"Nonsense. At least we match now," Akashi knocked on the band-aid on Kuroko's nose lightly with the back of his index finger. Kuroko let out a small amused laugh.
"Ah well, rather than that, what's your plan after this Kuroko?"
"Hm…None really. Are you planning to go anywhere Akashi-kun?"
"If you don't mind, should we go out for dinner or something later?"
Kuroko tilted his head in confusion.
"What do you have after this Akashi-kun?"
"I would love to go out with you after this but I can't. I have basketball practice."
"Ah right. You're the captain."
"Is it that obvious?"
"It's hard to imagine any other positions beside captain for you Akashi-kun."
Akashi snorted, amused yet again. "So should I fetch you at your place after my practice?"
Kuroko perked up, subtly excited but Akashi could detect the sudden subtle change in mood despite Kuroko's attempt in keeping his expression neutral. The blue-haired male fidgeted, looking down at his fiddling thumbs. It was obvious he wanted to say something but was holding it back.
Which amused Akashi yet again.
"What is it Kuroko?"
Kuroko looked up, his neutral yet twinkling eyes locked with Akashi's.
"Akashi-kun…Can I watch your practice?"
Akashi raised a brow.
"I'm…actually interested in basketball," Kuroko admitted timidly. His statement piqued Akashi's interest.
"Interesting…Why don't you sign up for it then?"
"I did, back in middle school. But…they barely realised I was there, except when I played badly in practice match and made a fool of myself because of my clumsiness."
They let a moment of silence passed for Akashi to digest Kuroko's explanation before he let out a laugh, as if Kuroko had just made a joke. Kuroko narrowed his eyes, irked at being made fun of.
"It's not funny Akashi-kun."
"Sorry, sorry. I'm not making fun of you. I just found that to be interesting."
"You have the weirdest taste in 'interesting', Akashi-kun."
"Anyway," Akashi took few sips of his coffee before putting it down and looked at Kuroko straight in the eye seriously though with a smile playing on his lips, "Would you like to watch our practice then?"
"Can I?"
"Well, I did ask you."
Kuroko nodded, visibly delighted in his own blank delighted way, which Akashi found adorable.
On their way to the basketball court, people turned heads towards their direction and started to whisper amongst themselves.
"Woah, that's Kuroko Tetsuya and THE Akashi Seijuurou right?"
"Nooo, Akashi-kun, you're going to be his new sacrifice!"
"I wonder how long it will last this time…"
…..
Kuroko sat on the bench, waiting for the practice to start. The club members were scattered around the court, stretching and doing their warm-ups while waiting for further instructions. No one realised he was there, which was no surprise.
He stole a glance at the corner of the court, where Akashi was discussing with a pink-haired girl which Kuroko assumed was the manager of the club. After discussing, Akashi called out to the club members, including his rainbow group of friends – Kuroko noticed – and spread them out into 2 teams of five according to different levels of ability before they all went to their respective courts and started their practice games.
Kuroko's eyes twinkled, giddy at the opportunity to watch university basketball as they tended to be interesting, what with skilful people and all compared to high school or middle school even for that matter.
But of course, Akashi's group of friends basically topped everyone in the court.
Kuroko had heard about of them before. The 'Kiseki no Sedai' they were called but Kuroko never really had the opportunity to watch their matches live because his tickets for those matches either flew away on a stormy day or gone into the unknown abyss. Or even when he had his ticket, the matches cancelled suddenly because of technical difficulties and were postponed and Kuroko would somehow missed the announcements. Sometimes, even he was amazed at how clumsy he could be.
The title died down after a while but Kuroko never expected to actually have the opportunity to date the captain though. That's like an achievement unlocked sort of thing. Not that he knew it at first when he accepted Akashi's confession because he never actually paid attention to how the Kiseki looked like until he eavesdropped (it wasn't like he wanted to – they just didn't realise he had been standing there the entire time) the conversation of some of Akashi's fangirls.
Focusing his attention back to the game, Kuroko found himself looking at Akashi again but not out of mere 'schoolgirl crush' but rather because he caught Akashi looking at him from his peripheral vision so he returned the stare and nodded. Akashi smiled in satisfaction, pleased that Kuroko was still staying around.
Until the smile was broken by something crashing onto the side of his head.
The whole gym went deadly silent, everyone gaped at the scene before them – even Kuroko looked panicked. The few static seconds resumed as everyone screamed their captain's name.
"Akashi!"
"Akashicchi!"
"Akashi-kun!"
Kuroko was the first to reach Akashi, kneeling down and was in a dilemma on whether to hold Akashi up or not, fearing it would worsen the damage. Midorima kneeled beside Kuroko and was looking over Akashi's condition.
"Okay, who threw that ball?!" Aomine's voice boomed through the crowd scattered closely around the body of their captain, but no one admitted anything.
They were indeed more confused on Kuroko's sudden appearance.
And Kise - who also just noticed Kuroko's presence – shivered in fear for his captain.
Could it be the basketball crashing onto Akashi has something to do with Kuroko – 'The Deadly Phantom Lover'?
Akashi groaned, and at the mere sound of consciousness, everyone perked up in worry.
"Akashi, don't move too much. You might have a concussion," Midorima advised, pushing Akashi down when the redhead was trying to sit up. Kuroko scooted closer and got into Akashi's line of vision.
"Akashi-kun, are you okay? Can you hear me?"
Maybe it was the concussion, maybe it was his vision blurring from the hard impact, maybe it was the noise of the crowd – But Akashi could see the black shadowy being from his dream floating in his vision. And heard its scratchy raspy voice vividly.
"Are you willing to die…for me?"
Kuroko's worried face materialised in his line of sight then, which was a refreshing sight since Kuroko doesn't show a lot of facial expressions. The fact that Kuroko was caressing his cheek, which anchored him to consciousness, was refreshing too. He wanted to hold those hands.
But if I take his hand…
"Akashi-kun…!"
What is going to happen to me from now on?
Akashi lifted his hand up with all his might and clasped one of Kuroko's hands on his cheek.
"I'm fine, Kuroko."
Oh well, who knows…
"Thank goodness…" Kuroko leaned down his forehead on Akashi's collarbone, feeling immensely relieved. Akashi felt contented as well at the genuine concern Kuroko was showing him despite just knowing each other barely more than a day.
Midorima's 'The hell you are!' went through deaf ears.
…..
The walk back to the dorm was quiet, though not uncomfortable. The couple had just gotten back from the nearby university health centre. Thankfully, it wasn't anything more serious than a mild concussion. Just a swollen bruise at the side of Akashi's head and nothing a few tablets of painkiller and ice couldn't fix.
"Well, I'm going back to the fifth floor…"
Akashi put on his usual trademark smile despite the slight throbbing in his head.
"See you tomorrow, Kuroko."
Just as they were about to part ways at the stairs, Kuroko looked back at Akashi hesitantly.
"Um, Akashi-kun…"
Akashi looked back towards Kuroko.
"It was fortunate that the injury today wasn't that serious….but aren't you scared?"
There were dejection and regret laced in Kuroko's soft voice, and even his usual blank expression had a hint of guilt.
"You do know it too, right? Everyone who goes out with me ended up getting hurt. And you too, already…"
Kuroko trailed off, biting his lips and looking down, unable to look at Akashi as guilt ate up his guts. However, Akashi simply chuckled.
"I fell in love with your smiling face you know?"
Kuroko looked up with surprise.
That's right.
"So please keep smiling."
As long as I have this smile, I have no fear.
A beaming smile adorned Kuroko's face then, grateful and glad that Akashi was still his usual self despite the many accidents. Akashi's heart skipped more than just a beat.
Uwah, cute….
In the span of one second, a frisbee whacked him right on his uninjured left cheek. Kuroko jumped in alarm.
"Akashi-kun! Are you okay?!"
Yes, as long as I have Kuroko, I will endure all these…
Somewhere on the ground floor in front of their dorm, two students looked up to the direction of the Frisbee.
"Crap, I threw it too hard."
