A/N:
To Akakuro babe: Yes, the Generation of Miracles will start making appearances from here on.
And as for the emperor's identity... I'm not telling yet~ *giggles*
Also, a thank you to those who took the time to review!
Kuroko stared at the crowd before him.
After being away from civilisation for such a long time, Kuroko was rather disoriented by the sheer number of people in the city.
It really did not help that half the plaza was full of merchants shouting at the top of their lungs to gather customers. Kuroko silently slipped between the gaps in the crowd, making his way to the huge fountain in the middle of the plaza.
A tired sigh escaped his lips when he managed to successfully secure himself a spot around the fountain. He sneakily refilled his empty canteens with water from the fountain. The water should be clean, if the bright blue gem encased in a magic circle on top of the fountain was any indication.
To be honest, Kuroko was rather surprised at himself. He was still able to remember the lessons from ten years ago, when the mages back then had pushed everything they could teach onto Kuroko. Even though Kuroko's parents did not agree to have him learn magic, the mages were absolutely not going to give up such a rare talent.
They had shoved books after books onto Kuroko, demanding that he memorise them all.
And Kuroko did.
Staring at the blue gem, Kuroko actually felt grateful for the teachings of those mages.
A bright, cheerful voice calling out for customers to his left had Kuroko turning his head instinctively. His gaze was met with overly bright blond hair and equally bright smile.
The person was dressed in simple and stylish clothes. Too stylish for a merchant, really. But the person was extremely good looking. Kuroko's silent declaration of the merchant's good looks was backed by squealing females. From housewives to young girls, they were all captivated by the merchant.
With the merchant's bright smile, Kuroko's already tiny presence was erased even more.
Many times, Kuroko was nearly shoved into the fountain by those who were eager to get as close as they could to the merchant. Mildly irritated and extremely uncomfortable, Kuroko decided to slip into the merchant's booth for shelter.
The merchant was completely oblivious to his presence (which was expected). Now safe from eager ladies, Kuroko happily watched as one by one, the items out on display was quickly being sold.
They were – very obviously – buying the goods just for a chance to speak with the handsome merchant.
Time passed, and Kuroko took note of the setting sun.
This merchant was extraordinary indeed. Housewives stacked containers after containers filled to the brim with food for the merchant to his side, which meant that the merchant did not need to leave his booth for food. Kuroko stole a couple of sandwiches and meat from the containers.
He really should not be doing this, he did feel guilty for taking it but from Kuroko's point of view, there really was too much food. Wasting food was one of Kuroko's taboos – trained by his years in the wilderness – so helping the merchant finish some food was perfectly fine.
When the merchant finally closed his booth for the day, and majority of his fans have disappeared, Kuroko shifted back to where he was seated previously. He waited.
The merchant let out a satisfied sigh, yet his face was a picture of boredom. Such contradictory actions left Kuroko feeling curious about the merchant.
With light taps on the merchant's arm, Kuroko tried to gain the merchant's attention.
The merchant turned his head to Kuroko's direction, and then stared down at his arm. Eyes narrowing, the merchant focused hard at the spot next to him.
"…Um, excuse me?"
The merchant's eyes widened and a shout of surprise shocked both Kuroko and the merchant himself.
"You! How long have you been there?"
The merchant's face changed from mild anger to interest in a split second.
"I did not notice you at all. How is that possible…?" The merchant hummed, lost in thought.
Kuroko only blinked in reply.
With a bright smile, the merchant grabbed hold of Kuroko's hand, shaking it enthusiastically.
"I'm Kise Ryouta. Who are you, little phantom?"
Kuroko paused momentarily. It had been a really long time since he had introduced himself.
…He nearly forgot his own name.
"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya."
"I see! Were you waiting to buy my goods? Such little presence you have, you must have waited a long time. Here." Kise began to open his boxes, laying them out neatly.
"No, that's not it. I am not here to buy." Kuroko hurried to speak. I don't exactly have any money anyway, Kuroko silently thought to himself.
"You're not? Then…" Kise frowned.
"According to your buyers earlier, they said that you were one of the few merchants that would travel great distances to sell and trade your goods. If one wants rare items from the other continents, you were to merchant to go to."
Kise smiled.
"Yes, indeed. I have the most unique items that you won't be able to find anywhere else!"
Kise proudly proclaimed with a dazzling smile. Yet, his eyes were cold. Kuroko had many years of practice reading the black dragon's expression, usually from its eyes. That is why the bright smile of the merchant did not fool Kuroko. For some reason, the merchant did not seem to like his job.
Kuroko did not mention his observation to Kise.
"If you have travelled many places, you must be very knowledgeable. If it's possible, would you allow me to listen to stories of the people from different continents?" Kuroko asked.
Kise blinked speechlessly. He was clearly dumbfounded by Kuroko's request.
"What do you want to know?" Kise asked hesitantly.
"I want to know about the knights, the mages and also about dragons."
Kise tilted his head, eyes studying Kuroko.
"If it's just that, we have knights and mages right here. And stories of dragon slaying too. There is no need to ask me."
"I want to know of the people from different continents. Are the knights the same, or do they have hidden values that they abide by secretly? And the same goes for the mages."
"Hmm."
Kise eyes never once left Kuroko as he listened, and neither did Kuroko look away. He thought he saw a faint hint of annoyance flickering through Kise's eyes before it quickly disappeared.
"Alright. I do know certain secrets, but I don't divulge such information to just anybody. What can you give me that would make me willing to tell you?" Kise smirked.
Kuroko frowned a little.
He did not have money, and there is nothing of interest on him to bribe the merchant with. Except for one. The black dragon scales. But if he handed them over, he did not know how Kise would react to them. He might run as far away as he could from Kuroko, or the reverse may happen.
Kise might attack Kuroko, forcing him to spill about how he had gotten hold of the scales.
Kuroko was no fool. Even though he had been away from people for a very long time, his memory was still clear. Kise was dressed in simple clothes, but Kuroko could still see it. The faint shape of a very defined body, strong arms, and his palms were marked with callous from wielding a sword.
Kise had a very similar body type as the knights who had desperately tried to train Kuroko back when he was a child. Kise was not just a simple merchant, he was most likely a knight as well.
But Kuroko did not know if Kise was loyal to the emperor in the palace, or perhaps some other high ranked person.
"What's wrong? Do you not have anything to give me in exchange for such information?" Kise asked kindly, but as always, his eyes were as cold as they were from the very beginning.
…Perhaps Kuroko could try to talk Kise around just like he had done to the black dragon whenever it had acted like a recalcitrant child.
"Kise-kun, do you like dragons?" Kuroko suddenly asked.
Kise was surprised, but a little cunning smile formed on his lips. It seems he had a rough idea of what Kuroko was trying to do. And he played along.
"Why yes, I do. Dragons are such lovely, majestic creatures. It would not be wrong to call them our god."
Kuroko nodded.
"Do you believe then, that all dragons are good? That even those that have been claimed to be evil are perhaps good?"
If Kise's eyes before were cold, now it was a downright blizzard storm raging in his beautiful yellow eyes. They pinned down on Kuroko so painfully that Kuroko nearly gave up.
"Are you talking about black dragons? Don't you know that talking about black dragons have been considered as a taboo? Do you wish to lose your life?" Kise hissed.
Kuroko was surprised.
A taboo? Since when? Was it the emperor's decision?
"You look surprised. How can you not know?" Kise voice lowered, becoming nearly threatening.
Kuroko hurriedly thought of an excuse, a partial truth is better than spilling everything.
"I left the city for a long time. It is unfortunate but it seems that I had not managed to be updated on the recent events."
Kise paused.
Then he asked, "How long were you away?"
Kuroko decided not to lie about that.
"Ten years."
Now, Kise's eyes widened almost comically.
"Ten years? Such a long time…" Kise trailed off, looking distracted.
Kuroko did not interrupt him.
Kise suddenly turned around, packing up his stuff. Kuroko only watched on silently. Once Kise had gathered everything, he grabbed hold of Kuroko's hand, dragging him off.
Kise was really strong; Kuroko could not stop him even though he had used all the strength he could muster.
They arrived at an old, run down inn.
Kise kicked the door open, barrelling straight up the stairs to his room.
Upon slamming his room door shut, a large magic circle appeared. Kuroko recognised it. It was a magic circle used for silencing. Whatever happens in this room, no one outside would know.
And that was when Kuroko saw that it was not just the door, magic circles appeared everywhere. The windows, the ceiling, the door leading to the bathroom, under the bed. Gold lines suddenly burst from the magic circles, creating a large square in the middle of the room.
Kise dropped his things onto the ground carelessly, and then tossed Kuroko into the square. He followed soon after.
"Do not take one step out of the square." Kise ordered Kuroko, his voice hard.
Kuroko nodded slowly.
Since he knew what the magic circle was for, Kuroko was not as afraid.
"Good."
Kise sat down within the square, motioning for Kuroko to do the same. Kuroko carefully took a seat on the floor.
"Now then, who are you really?" Kise asked.
Kuroko blinked.
"I am Kuroko Tetsuya."
Kise glared, and a broad sword appeared out of nowhere. Kise stabbed the sword into the ground, with enough force that at least a quarter of the sword sunk into the ground.
Kuroko did not move.
"Then tell me, were you kicked out of the city by the emperor or did you leave on your own?"
Kuroko did not know why Kise wanted to know his private information.
But at least, Kuroko could answer questions like this.
"I left on my own."
"Why?"
"I come from a family of knights, because I was not suited to be a knight, I decided to leave my home."
"Where have you lived for the past ten years?"
"Deep in the forest, to the south of the city."
"Alone?"
Kuroko fell silent. He did not trust Kise, how could he reveal such things? He refused to get the black dragon in danger. Even if the dragon would returned as a mature and scarily strong dragon, Kuroko was not willing to take any risks.
"…Yes." Kuroko finally replied. It was not quite a lie since he really did live alone for a period of time, until he found the dragon that is.
Kise surely picked up on his hesitance, but he did not comment on it.
"Is your family normal knights or Royal Knights?"
"Royal Knights."
"Have you ever met the emperor?"
"Yes."
Kuroko remembered meeting the emperor multiple times, yet when he tried to recall the emperor's appearance, a strange fog covered the emperor, turning him into a blurred image in Kuroko's mind.
"Do you like the emperor?"
Kuroko frowned.
At first, he had wanted to agree. But strangely, a lump formed in his throat, making him swallow hard to clear it. And then doubt began to surface in his mind. Why did he like the emperor? He could hardly even recall the emperor's appearance, and he did not interact much with the emperor.
Why had he wanted to mindlessly say that he liked the emperor?
"That, I…I don't know. I don't see a reason for me to favour him, yet there is no reason to hate him either." Kuroko softly said those words, but since the room was completely silent, his words were clearly heard by Kise.
For the first time, Kise's eyes shone. He actually seemed really excited.
"You, were you spared?" Kise questioned excitedly. "You are not under the emperor's influence?"
"What do you mean?"
At Kuroko's response, Kise laughed out loud. He laughed so hard that tears began to leak out of his eyes.
"Wonderful, wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" Kise shouted.
"…Kise-kun?"
Kuroko did not know what was going on. Why did Kise suddenly become so happy?
"I knew it. I knew you were different from the moment you mentioned black dragons. I had thought that the emperor was playing tricks at first, but I see that is not the case. That emperor is too prideful to have his subordinate say that they did not like him even if it is for one of his tricks!"
Kise coughed, recovering from his laughter. He fixed his eyes on the confused Kuroko.
"So, you say you are not a knight. Then, do you have any other skills?"
Kuroko blinked.
"Magic. The mages have mentioned that I have the highest affinity for the elements that they had ever seen. But I am not a qualified mage, I do not have a certificate."
"No problem. Having a cert would be much more troublesome, since it would mean that you are forever tied to the emperor."
"I don't understand."
"The piece of paper mages receive as a cert is in fact a hidden binding magic. As well as the ID tags that would be given out. Because ID tags have to be on a person all the time, it makes it easy for the emperor to monitor the movements of the mages and knights."
"The emperor?" Kuroko gasped.
"Yes. Since you are not under the influence of the emperor, I shall tell you. The emperor is not what he seems to be."
Be wary of the emperor, young child. He is not what he seems to be.
Those words suddenly slammed into Kuroko mind. He cried out in pain, clutching onto his head. Whose voice was that? Why were the words so similar?
"Hey? Hey! Kuroko-kun!"
Kuroko blinked, realizing that he had fallen to the ground. Kise was crouched over him, lightly shaking him.
"Sorry, Kise-kun. I was feeling unwell for a moment."
"What do you mean unwell? You looked completely spooked!"
Kise frowned, helping Kuroko to sit up.
"The emperor… Kise-kun, won't you please tell me about the emperor?"
"Many citizens would say that the emperor is kind, gentle and merciful. But the truth is that the emperor is in fact controlling everyone. Mages call it 'Black Magic'. The emperor is hypnotizing the people, making them worship and serve him. And they would only spread good things about the emperor to any visitors."
"…Why would he? And why are you not under the emperor's hypnosis?"
"I received help from a certain person. That person is really strong, easily releasing me from the emperor's hypnosis."
Kise suddenly pulled Kuroko to his feet.
"Kise-kun?" Kuroko exclaimed.
"You said you are a mage, yes? Have a battle with me." Kise smiled.
Kuroko stared at Kise.
"Come on. Don't worry, you can destroy this room all you want. I want to test your strength."
Kuroko glanced around the room. Kise was insane, yes he was sure.
Kuroko shook his head.
"No."
"It's okay, it's okay. Here, see." Kise pulled out a white charm with a complex magic circle drawn on it. "This here only needs the wind element to activate it. Once it's activated, we will be transported into a barrier. Nothing here will be affected in real life, even though everything may be destroyed."
Kise happily waved the white charm.
"When the barrier is brought down, everything will return to its ordinary state."
Kuroko did not know what to say. Kise handed over the white charm.
"Can you use the wind element? Quickly activate it!" Kise eagerly jumped up and down.
Left without much of a choice, Kuroko did as he was told.
The magic circle expanded, enveloping the entire inn and its surrounding houses and alleyways. Before Kuroko could recover from the large scale magic, Kise was already running towards him with his sword.
Kuroko dodge, rolling on the ground. Kise's sword nick his arm, drawing a thin line of blood.
This was completely unfair! How could a mage win against a knight? Mages need time for incantations, and they can't use a single spell when they consistently had to dodge or block attacks.
Just what was Kise's aim?
Cracks appeared on the floor from the wind pressure of the force of Kise's attacks. The windows shattered.
Kuroko's skin prickled as he glanced as Kise. Kise's bloodlust could be felt a considerable distance away. He was really going all out on Kuroko. …Kise really wanted to kill Kuroko!
Kuroko could only helplessly dodge, gaining more and more wounds.
Blood soon covered the ground.
At this rate, Kuroko would bleed to death even if he managed to evade Kise all the way. Kuroko frowned. Would he really have to reveal one of the skills he had so early? Back when Kuroko still lived with the dragon, he had taken the dragon as target practice.
The dragon would chase after Kuroko, attacking him with claws and very, very, very tiny fireballs, lightning, and icicles. The dragon made sure to never hurt Kuroko badly, but Kuroko did not have to worry about hurting the dragon. The dragon scales naturally repelled almost all kinds of magic spells.
Really, being chased after by a dragon was much, much worse than what Kuroko was facing now. The dragon was a whole lot faster than Kise was. Thus, in a desperate attempt to at least land one attack on the dragon, Kuroko had trained himself to cast spells without incantations.
It was a painful and difficult process, but Kuroko succeeded.
But this technique was only to be used in bad situations, because unveiling this ability may end up causing Kuroko more trouble.
In this fight with Kise, Kuroko had greatly reduced the speed he had so that Kise would not realize anything out of the ordinary. Now Kuroko had to make a choice.
Increase his speed and cast spells at the same time, or maintain the same speed and cast simple spells without incantations.
Kuroko furrowed his brows. He will keep his speed as a secret. He did not want Kise to learn everything about Kuroko, even if that may be Kise's aim with this fight. Quickly dodging Kise's sword, Kuroko sent a normal fireball right into Kise's face.
Kise reeled back with surprising speed, lifting his sword to slash through the fireball.
But Kuroko only smiled.
The sword slashed the fireball in half, but instead of it disappearing, now there were two fireballs. Before Kise could react, both fireballs exploded. Kuroko did not relax though.
Through the smoke Kise's sword emerged, attacking Kuroko with deadly accuracy. Kuroko jumped backwards, and ten icicles manifested around Kise's neck.
Kise finally stopped moving.
He frowned at the icicles. After having the fireballs increase upon slashing it, now Kise was cautious about simply running his sword through the ice around him.
Quickly making his decision, Kise took a step forward.
But that was what Kuroko was aiming for. Distracted by the icicles around his neck, Kise did not see Kuroko preparing an icicle so huge that it was at least twice Kise's height. The moment Kise move even an inch, Kuroko launched the icicle.
And the result was Kise suffering a serious wound from where the icicle had pierced through his abdomen and pinned him to the ground.
"Give up, Kise-kun. With such a wound, you would only have about three minutes before you bleed out."
Kise coughed, and blood flowed out of his mouth. He started chuckling.
"Okay. I give."
Kuroko dispersed the ice.
Even being so critically wounded, Kise was still able to move his arm, searching around in his clothes. He pulled out another charm, but the paper was a pale lavender. Kise pressed his bloodied finger in the centre of the paper's magic circle.
"Heal."
With a bright flash, Kise's wounds disappeared. Kuroko's wounds as well, all his cuts had healed.
"Barrier release."
A soft hum, and before Kuroko's eyes, the broken table and chairs fixed themselves. The mattress that was sliced in half was pieced together. And the cracks on the floor were filled in, all the blood dissipated.
Kuroko blinked at the scene before him. Such impressive magic left him in awe.
Kise pushed himself up, sitting comfortably on the floor. He sent a beaming smile towards Kuroko.
"You're really good! I didn't hear you chant any incantations at all. So you are able to use magic without them, huh. Impressive."
Kuroko's eyes twitched. Kise had really been observing him closely.
"Hey, hey, Kurokocchi! So far you used only fire and ice magic. And I know you have at least a considerable amount of control over wind magic since activating that barrier is actually really difficult! Do you know any other types of magic?" Kise babbled excitedly.
Kuroko frowned.
Why did he feel like he just got played into Kise's schemes even though he had been careful to avoid them? And what was with the sudden nickname? Kuroko had only met Kise earlier that day; does winning a fight against Kise warrant a close bond?
Kise Ryouta, such a strange man he was. Kuroko stared at the man before him.
He hesitantly opened his mouth to answer Kise. He froze when Kise's eyes suddenly widened.
Before Kuroko could react, his entire body was restrained by magic. There was a hard blow to the side of his head. He vaguely saw Kise shouting at someone and then darkness rushed up to meet him.
T.B.C
