"Satan has his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and detested."

― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein


It was odd, the moment he stepped into Kagami's apartment he felt a sense of – dare he say it – belonging.

The house was big, not exactly huge, but bigger than the average bachelor's home. The walls were painted an off-white color that only seemed to make the room look bigger. It had sliding glass doors just right of the entrance that led out into the veranda.

"You can sleep in the spare bedroom, it was ah, my room at first, but since my dad didn't come with me I took his bedroom. I hope that's okay with you."

Kagami's back was facing toward him, but despite the intent of not showing his face Kuroko knew that he was blushing. Deciding to tease him a bit he thought it a good way to test his boundaries.

"Is Kagami-kun blushing?"

"N-no! And since when did you decide to call me kun!" he directed the focus back onto Kuroko hoping it would provide a good distraction. It didn't of course, but Kuroko decided to show some mercy.

"Have you had dinner yet?" The younger male set his stuff down gently and walked past the still blushing Kagami. "If you haven't I can try and make something for you."

"It's fine, I can cook. You're my guest."

"I'm your intruder," Kuroko knew he was fighting a losing battle so in a fit of pure genius he came up with a plan. "How about we both cook, I'll be your sous-chef."

Reluctantly the red head agreed, not quite sure why he did so. It was almost as if his body decided for him before his brain did.

[x]

In the end they both settled on the idea of a simple dinner for two; udon noodles with a side of rice. It was hardly a complicated dinner, but it managed to keep them alive.

They ate in silence; Kagami silently wondering how to start a conversation, and Kuroko enjoying the soup. It was after all natural for him to eat in silence, only talking when being spoken too. He really despised his behavior, but old habits die hard.

"So tell me, why were out so late?" Kagami said the first part in utter confidence, but the rest just seemed to gradually fade away into a soft whisper. "The real reason why."

Kuroko silently hummed for a few seconds before responding, leaving the redhead antsy, "What makes you think my earlier answer wasn't the real reason, Kagami-kun."

He poked his chopsticks into the soup, playing with the noodles knowing he didn't have a valid reason why. It was a gut feeling, something was off and he could sense it. That was one of the reasons why he had brought the boy home despite knowing it was not very safe.

"I dunno, intuition?"

"Well, your intuition was wrong," it was spot on actually, he wanted to add but didn't.

"I see."

They spent the remainder of the evening in complete and utter silence, knowing the conversation would always end up at the topic of Kuroko.

As Kagami was about to head off to sleep he showed Kuroko his room, telling him he could stay up but to keep things quiet. He had neighbors despite living in the penthouse suite, kudos to his father.

The blue haired visitor was curious as to why he lived in the penthouse but said nothing, it was after all considered rude. Not like that ever really stopped him when he wanted answers, in fact it only fueled his want to know.

"If you need anything shout at me, I'm going to hit the hay," and with that he left his guest by his former room, and headed off toward his own. Kuroko was now alone with his thoughts, just like before, and they all came rushing back in a flurry of words.

Kagami Tiaga was an abnormal human; most people would disregard him after their initial meeting, covering up their embarrassment with anger. But with Kagami it was different.

The man didn't seem to hate his presence, and if Kuroko didn't know better he'd say that the man liked his company. Being alone had that effect on people; he for one knows that from hands on experience. Maybe Kagami liked him because he could see himself inside the bluenette.

Alone in the world, afraid of every single bump in the night; it was a horrible way to live.

Kuroko snapped out of his thoughts noticing that he had been standing in the same spot for over two minutes, apparently too absorbed in himself he didn't notice the lights going off.

With quiet footsteps he made way into the living room and plopped himself onto the black couch. It was rather comfy for something that looked so stiff, and smelled just like Kagami. His thoughts shut down, not knowing why he knew the scent of his acquaintance.

It was a reasonable guess that it was because the whole house smelled of Kagami, but no it was something entirely different. In fact, Kuroko was a hundred-percent sure that even Kagami didn't know the scent was there because it wasn't any ordinary smell; it was his soul.

Every person has a soul, and each soul is different from the next. They all looked the same [sans color] but each had a smell to it that varied. Humans couldn't detect it because it wasn't meant for them; rather it was for ethereal beings.

That's why it surprised Kuroko when he had been able to detect it. After years and years of not being able to differentiate the Earth and the souls, he wondered why it had started now.

He closed his eyes and just breathed in Kagami, relishing in the feeling of importance. It had been so long since he had something to live for, so he disregarded the fact that inhaling a soul was something very intimate.

While in pure bliss he failed to notice the lights flickering on and off, a sure warning sign that something bad was going to happen soon. And it was only when the door opened did he notice something was very wrong, but alas it was too late.

In order of intimidation the five people he was trying to run away from came sauntering into Kagami's house not caring whether or not they were invited.

"Hello Tetsuya."

Everything was tensely silent, not even the crickets dared to chirp. Kuroko forgot all about his recent discovery.

"I suppose you are here to persuade me to come with you again Akashi-san."

The said man chuckled and a knowing glint flashed in his golden eye, "Oh no, I didn't come here to ask you, I came here to take you; whether on your own terms or forcibly. "

Kuroko didn't say anything, letting everything become silent once more, and waiting for the perfect time to escape. Akashi seemed to sense his intentions and ordered his right hand man to restrain the poor bluenette.

His face was still blank, but his eyes blazed with fire. It wasn't that he was weak; he just wasn't as strong as the men before him, so it was useless to struggle. Why hurt himself more than he had to when it was obvious he would lose?

"I see."

Having been fed up with being pushed to the shadows Kise decided it was his time to shine, "Kuroko-cchi~ it's been too long, a hundred years right?"

"A hundred twenty-three I believe."

"I wasn't talking to you Midorima-cchi," the blonde haired model said pointedly, but never stopped looking at the blue haired male being held by the tall giant he called an ally.

He, at that moment, resented Murasakibara. His hands were dangerously low, and his head was sitting atop a mop of blue hair. The boy didn't seem to mind, but was obviously irritated at being handled in such a way; a very close intimate way.

When Kuroko didn't respond Kise stepped out from behind Aomine, and ran toward the boy being held captive. Apparently the giant didn't seem to like that idea, so with quick movements he twisted his body around; successfully blocking the blonde haired idiot's unwarranted actions.

"Please set me down Murasakibara-san."

"No, Kuroko is just too cute. It makes me want to eat you."

"I will have you refrain from doing such things," and with that Akashi took the lead once more making sure the purple haired giant got his message. Kuroko Tetsuya was everyone's.

It was a power play, a show of dominance. Akashi didn't relent in his stare, and neither did Murasakibara; something quite unusual for him. In fact none of the other males have ever seen him stand up to their self-appointed leader.

All was silent, but the sound of a sigh escaping the bluenette sliced it.

"If you would kindly put me down, I'll go and get my things."

He did as requested but with reluctance. The younger male nodded in appreciation and stepped out of the room and into Kagami's old one, making sure no one was following him.

Kuroko walked slowly but made sure to keep his pace steady. He didn't want to show any sign of weakness, only small defeat.

After retrieving his bag he decided to leave a note for his acquaintance. It was after all weird for someone to stay a night and be gone the next; unless it was for other reasons…

With a face as stoic as a statue, he greeted his captures with nothing more than a quick, "I'm ready," because although he went freely, he didn't want them to have the satisfaction of winning the psychological battle between them.

And just like that they all left, the five older males forming a barricade around the bluenette. They were careful to keep their eyes glued on him, he – after all- had a knack for disappearing; the reason why he had to be hunted down in the first place.

I need to plan my next escape, He thought eagerly

[x]

"Ohh~ something's finally happening! And to think I had to restrain myself from Tetsuya for a whole century! "

The voice giggled melodically, and the body to which the sound came from danced around the room in pure glee. To anyone mortal it would have been a very disturbing visual.

A cough stopped his prancing and made him glare at the woman who dare interrupt him. Her face remained passive even when his frame towered over hers and pressed his face against her neck.

After all, she was used to it.

"They're heading west sir, I advise you to keep on schedule so we won't lose him again," he glared at her for a few more seconds before backing off and staring at her from a more far away distance.

"Understood," his back was facing toward her, "Send someone to keep location of him."

"Right away, Sir."

He dismissed her with the wave of his hand, and continued looking at the wall in front of him. It was nothing interesting, just an off-white colored wall.

"Let's continue our chess game shall we?"

[x]

A/N Oh my gosh 61 follows and over 3,000 views? Whooo awesome. I'm sorry this chapter went really fast, but I wanted to go to the "good" parts and I didn't know how. So that's how I came up with this. A bridge to the cool parts (coughpossivegoodnessofeveryonecough) Yay~

*I used references from tumblr to help visualize Kagami's apartment. I forgot the link though.

*At the end the Mystery Man is in Kagami's place if it wasn't clear enough. It's a great day for fans of walls.

Thank you so much for reading. (If you find any mistakes please tell me. I have no beta and I'm too shy to find one.