Chapter 6 – Stranger Danger

A handful of months had passed since Kuroko found Nigou and things were gradually starting to get better again.

Kuroko started smiling more. He was actually functioning as a person again, often going on outings with Akashi and the other yokai.

Akashi had noticed that the dog seemed to be helping the boy cope somewhat, providing him with a playful companion to take care of and snuggle with when he was sad. In some ways it surprised Akashi how responsible Kuroko was being with the dog – always making sure he was well fed and exercised. Not to mention, the training was going well. The dog was doing a good job of obeying both Akashi's and Kuroko's orders, though he liked to defy Kise and Midorima but Akashi didn't mind that too much.

It was a relatively warm afternoon when Akashi and Aomine were sat watching the teal-head run around, playing fetch with Nigou. Aomine was observing the kitsune who was looking at how Nigou bounded back to the boy, pouncing on him. The navy-head perceived Akashi's expression and reaction to the kid's interaction with the dog.

"Hey Akashi, are you jealous of Nigou?" Aomine asked, smirking at the idea.

The red haired fox glared at the nekomata. "I am not jealous." Akashi stated, but Aomine was not convinced.

"Oh really? I haven't seen you pull that face since seeing you watch your mother interact with humans." Aomine teased.

"Shut up Daiki."

"Akashi-sama! Catch!" Kuroko called from in front of them.

The next thing Akashi knew was that a stick was flying at him. He easily caught it, looking to Kuroko in victory, however the minor achievement was negated by the puppy that then bounded onto the kitsune, nearly knocking him over.

"Arf! Arf!" Nigou barked as he jumped, trying to bite the stick out of Akashi's hands, showing no care for the fox he had tackled.

Perhaps Akashi needed to work on the dog's training some more…

One day, the kitsune and the human came across an injured inugami in the woods. Akashi had never met the person and immediately took a disliking to a stranger being in his forest, but Kuroko was more compassionate, and thus Akashi tried to follow his example, though he did so warily.

"Ah, sorry to intrude if this is your territory! I was simply passing through and fell out of the tree while I was sleeping, hence the broken leg." The foreigner said nervously, having noticed Akashi's protective, suspicious look. The dog yokai was quite tall and had brown hair with matching ears and shaggy tail.

"Can you heal his leg Akashi-sama?" Kuroko asked looking up to Akashi.

"I suppose I can." Akashi replied, sounding inconvenienced.

The inugami gulped. "A-A-Akashi-sama?! Y-y-you're him! The e-evil k-kk-kitsune!" He said, clearly afraid of the red-head.

"Akashi-sama isn't evil stranger-sama." Kuroko defended, frowning at the outsider.

Akashi didn't bother trying to argue his case to the yokai, instead he just got on with healing the injury. "If you have no business here, it would be best for you to move on." He stated icily.

The inugami's leg had now completely recovered, so he quickly stood, giving a small bow and mumbled a 'thank you' before running off.

The interaction had made Akashi uncomfortable, even though it was hardly something he was unused to.

Meanwhile Kuroko had been saddened by the scene. Ever since he had been born, he'd always heard rumours of the cruel and powerful nine-tailed kitsune, Akashi Seijuro, and how he was merciless and would kill humans without remorse. But as a child, he had doubted their words. Particularly because his mother never seemed to believe them. She was cautious of the kitsune, but that was simply because to her he was an unknown. When Kuroko had stumbled upon the fluffy tails of the fox yokai, his instincts had told him that he didn't need to be fearful, and his instincts had turned out to be correct. Sure, Akashi had been a bit cold to start with, but it hadn't taken the boy long to penetrate the walls Akashi had built up around himself. The kitsune had soon shown his more kind-hearted and playful side.

"Akashi-sama?" Kuroko whispered as the two began walking back home. Nigou quietly trotting alongside them.

"Hmm?" Akashi hummed.

"Why is everyone so afraid of you?"

It was a question that was bound to come up one day, and in all honesty Akashi was surprised it had taken this long for the child to ask it.

"That's the question isn't Tetsuya." Akashi sighed. He didn't want to answer this. Not now when everything was just starting to get better. A brief silence passed. "I did some very bad things a long time ago. Unforgivable things."

Kuroko could easily read Akashi's self-loathing for whatever he'd done, and his fear of being hated. "You have always been so kind to me Akashi-sama. If you think I would hate you for whatever you did in the past to make everyone afraid of you, I won't. I will continue to love Akashi-sama."

The word 'love' made Akashi flinch. "Some things cannot be so easily forgiven Tetsuya."

"Okaa-san always said that anyone can be forgiven if they are truly sorry for what they did." Kuroko said with a creased brow. "Are you sorry for what you did?"

Akashi inhaled deeply. "Unbelievably so."

"Well then. I forgive Akashi-sama."

"Tetsuya, I killed people. Innocent people." Akashi almost hissed, his voice laced with self-disgust.

Kuroko winced at Akashi's words and tone. "I know…but…Akashi-sama is different now. I know you would never hurt me or anyone who didn't deserve it."

"You're too damn stubborn and trusting Tetsuya." Akashi replied with a sigh.

"I know." Kuroko quipped with the hint of a smile edging onto his lips. He'd won this disagreement, as he often did when it came to Akashi or any of his other yokai friends for that matter. After another moment of silence, Kuroko spoke up again. "Why did you do it?"

The fox exhaled and momentarily closed his eyes. "I was angry. Some humans…they…they murdered someone I loved dearly. I couldn't think straight, I just acted. It took me a long time to realise how horrific my actions had been."

Kuroko frowned. "That was the past. I'm not going to say that it's okay that you killed those people, but I love Akashi-sama and I don't believe that you're evil, no matter what everyone else says."

"I really don't deserve to have someone like you." Akashi said as Kuroko brought a hand up to hold his own.

The next morning, Kuroko rolled out of his bed, careful as to not disturb Nigou sleeping at the foot of the covers. Akashi had given Kuroko his own little space in the cave, complete with a bed and blankets that was just across from Akashi's own sleeping quarters. The teal-head looked around blearily, yawning and stretching before he began to make his way to the simplistic kitchen.

Normally, Akashi was the first to get out of bed and would have already prepared breakfast for the two, but today was different. The fox was still huddled in the blankets on his bed, fast asleep. So, Kuroko began to make a basic breakfast. Whilst his culinary skills were not amazing, they were not bad either.

Soon, Kuroko was walking back into the bedroom of the cave with two bowls of food. He was surprised to see that Akashi was still sleeping.

"Akashi-sama? I've made breakfast for you." Kuroko said, gently tapping the kitsune's shoulder.

When the only response he got was a quiet, discomforted groan, Kuroko's brow furrowed. Akashi was definitely acting out of character. "Akashi-sama? Are you okay?" Kuroko asked with an edge of concern in his voice.

When Akashi still did not provide any verbal answer, Kuroko put the bowls down on the side table and raised the back of his hand, placing it gently on the fox's forehead. It was then that he felt how hot the kitsune's skin was. He has a fever…Kuroko thought with a grimace.

He quickly ran over to his bed and pulled out his box of medicinal herbs and concoctions which he stored under his bed. He easily found the one designed to ease fevers and took it over to Akashi, force feeding it to him. Afterwards, Kuroko grabbed a cloth and wet it before placing it on the fox yokai's forehead. He then sat on the floor by Akashi's side and waited for the medicine to take effect.

Several minutes later, Akashi began to stir, his eyes opening lazily. "Tetsuya...what's wrong-" Akashi began before gasping in pain as he tried to sit up.

"You should rest Akashi-sama, I think you're ill or something."

"I'm not ill. Akashi Seijuro does not get ill."

Kuroko just gave him an unimpressed stare. "Are you sure about that? Because Akashi-sama definitely has a temperature and it seems he can't even get out of bed."

Akashi huffed, lying back down in his bed.

"I didn't think yokai could get ill…" Kuroko said confusedly.

"That's not entirely wrong. We can't catch human illnesses. But there are some diseases that affect yokai exclusively…" As Akashi spoke he realised how he must have become sick. "That damn inugami from yesterday." He growled. "I knew we shouldn't have gone near him."

"What's done is done. We should concentrate on making you feel better. Can you heal yourself?"

Akashi shook his head, which he immediately regretted as a headache began to pulse through his brain. "When yokai become ill they lose their supernatural abilities. I'm almost as weak as you right now." Akashi said, trying to tease the boy towards the end of his explanation.

"That's not very nice Akashi-sama. You should be nicer to me seeing as I'm the one who's going to have to take care of you." Kuroko said bluntly. "Although…Can I get Midorima-sama to come help? He has healing abilities too right?"

"I'd only make him ill too." Akashi groaned, resigning himself to his fate. "And you're probably carrying the illness as well, just asymptomatically. If you go near another yokai you'll only spread it further."

Kuroko looked concerned. "How long is it going to last?"

"It varies. It may be a few weeks, but sometimes it can last for a few years or even a decade." For yokai, that wasn't a particularly long time as they were able to live for centuries, but to Kuroko? That would feel like an eternity.

"Is there any sort of medicine that might help you recover more quickly?"

"Not that I know of." Akashi murmured. In all honesty, he just wanted to sleep right now, but he needed to inform Kuroko about the issue. Kuroko could tell from the expression on the kitsune's face that he was uncomfortable and so instructed him to eat what he could of the breakfast and then get some rest.

The idea that Akashi could be ill for years frightened Kuroko. I need to do something…But what could he do? Sure, he had skills in creating medicine and herbal remedies, but he knew nothing about yokai illnesses. For all he knew, their biology was completely different. Although the drink for easing a fever seemed to work…

Whilst considering his options, he came to the conclusion that he should try going to the capital city, where the castle was. He'd often heard that the medicinal practices there were far more advanced and so maybe even a cure for yokai could be found there.

Kuroko began to pack a small bag of supplies – everything he would need for travelling for a few days. He also prepared some meals for Akashi whilst he would be gone. Once he was done, he sat by the yokai's bed and read a book as he waited for the kitsune to wake up so he could notify him of his plan.

A/N:

Thanks to all of you readers as always. I hope everything is going well for you all ^_^

Next chapter: Quest