Recommended song: Halo by Mono
Edited by Stirling Phoenix
•••
Six days before the deadline.
Moscow, Russia. 12:31 pm.
The clouds were extremely grey. It wasn't the best day to navigate, but nevertheless, they were sailing on the lake Bezdonnoe in the Serebryany Bor. Murasakibara napped on the deck, seemingly not bothered by the impending storm. Kuroko was in front of him, perpetual mask of neutrality in place. It had been two days since he met Murasakibara, two days following him around and searching for an answer.
"I have no reason to refuse Kuro-chin's request." He had said after slowly savoring his dessert at dinner, "but I also don't have reason to refuse Aka-chin's."
With that, they parted ways and to their respective bedrooms. Later on the next day, Kuroko persisted, "I need your help." Covering his mouth with his hand, Murasakibara yawned while standing sleepily on the doorway of his hotel's bedroom, "Sure." He said shrugging, letting Kuroko in. He never mentioned the topic throughout the rest of the day.
Now on the second day, they climbed wordlessly onto Murasakibara's yacht and set sail to the lake.
Kuroko gazed at the darkening clouds.
Something rang in the breeze. The sound resembled the bell of a temple signaling the starting of a ritual.
"Kuro-chin is going to burn up, like a pretty marshmallow~," Murasakibara said from his place on the couch, "Isn't what they say? Those who play with fire get burned?"
Kuroko stared questioningly at him, "What do you mean?"
"Aka-chin is just trying to protect you, you know?" Murasakibara said, not looking at him, but at the clouds.
"I appreciate it," Kuroko straightened up on his seat, "However, I am no victim."
Murasakibara glanced at Kuroko for a brief moment and smiled, "Is that so?"
Kuroko frowned at Murasakibara's cryptic answer, "What are you trying to imply?"
Second by second, the bell rang louder, until it suddenly stopped, leaving a deafening silence behind.
Murasakibara didn't say a word afterwards; Kuroko tried to ask again, but he heard a bark in the distance. He turned around and saw a black form running up and down on the beach frantically in the distance.
"Aomine-kun?" Kuroko stood, confused as to why Aomine would stay in that form in broad daylight. Unless. Unless. Unless, it's an emergency.
He turned sharply to Murasakibara, he demanded, "What is happening?"
"I told you~" Murasakibara lay down on the couch, stretching like a cat, "I have no reason to refuse Kuro-chin. But I also don't have a reason to refuse Aka-chin~." He stared at Kuroko with a childish smile, "Kuro-chin is going to burn up~."
Kuroko's body moved faster than his brain; as soon as he had shed his clothes, he jumped off the yacht's deck. The water was cold and he wasn't thinking straight but the beach wasn't so far away. It isn't so far away, he told himself over and over.
Aomine's barks encouraged him to swim faster. The beach was close, Aomine was close, means to go back to the city were close, the only thing that wasn't close was Kagami.
•••
Same day, Japan. 9:16 pm.
Kuroko was beside him as Kagami laid down on his coach. It was a Sunday. Yes, yes it was, he recalled picturing the scene again. Kuroko raised his hand. He thought Kagami was still asleep, and with the back of his fingers, he brushed Kagami's cheek softly.
It was a timid gesture, Kuroko thought it was a secret, however Kagami knew better. He knew about Kuroko's smiles, the ones that were only meant for him. He knew about those special moments they shared throughout the years they'd spent together.
For Kagami, Kuroko was a guide, a beacon of hope, salvation, a god that he never wanted to lose faith in. There was a time, at the beginning, where Kagami was confused. He didn't understand his feelings, was it familiarity or similarity? Could he really trust the hand of a stranger leading him to the eye of a storm? The longer he thought about it, more prepared he was to leap into the abyss of the unknown.
The early sunshine streamed inside the living room and Kagami could still feel the ghost of Kuroko's touch on his skin. He was there beside him. Kagami wasn't alone. It felt nice and pleasant, like a dream. It was reality, wasn't it?
Why did it felt like a dream then?
Why were the memories of the past years playing like a film in his mind?
What was this feeling of foreboding?
The warmth left him, he opened his eyes and found himself in an unfamiliar room, a fancy, yet unfamiliar room. Kagami looked around disoriented, his gaze stopped at his left, through the window's glass he could see the Hamarikyu Gardens, and ahead of it, the lit up buildings of Tokyo Bay. He recognized the area because he had gone with Kuroko to the teahouse in Nakashima before. He was in Minato's ward in Tokyo. That eased his nerves for a bit, but his gut told him that he was in danger.
Click.
It was the soft sound of cutlery, an almost imperceptible sound; Kagami turned around and saw a young man eating silently on a small table, not too far away from the foot of the bed where he sat. Kagami didn't move, he just watched the precise movements of the man cutting his food with a knife; how was possible to not have noticed him before? After what it seemed like an eternity, the young man wiped his mouth elegantly with a cloth napkin.
He reached for a cup of tea, "I am Akashi Seijuurou," he took a sip from the cup, "Kagami Taiga," he regarded Kagami with a cold gaze, "your existence is an inconvenience."
•••
It took some time, but Kuroko used his influence and resources to get a private airplane to fly them directly to Tokyo. They would arrive in a little less than nine hours. No questions were asked regarding the how and why an enormous black wolf was inside the passenger cabin. The small crew required for the trip kept entirely to themselves, they had transported more unusual things in the past, after all.
Aomine's head rested on Kuroko's lap, he could feel the tremors running down in his soul.
I'm sorry.
Kuroko patted his head, fingers rubbing his left ear, "It's not your fault."
I could have done something sooner.
"There was nothing you could do. We underestimated Murasakibara-kun's association with Akashi-kun's plans. I am the one who should be apologizing. You are unable to change your form, and you were imprisoned."
Aomine pawed Kuroko's leg, staring intently with his yellow eyes, Don't worry about that. I'm sure I will able to change soon enough!
Kuroko wanted to smile, Aomine knew that, but he couldn't. Akashi was with Kagami, and Kuroko didn't know what to think of it. It was improbable that Akashi planned to break the rules he had imposed. So, why was he approaching Kagami? He dared not to think. But the uneasiness never left his heart, not even when Aomine tried to comfort him by rubbing his nose under his chin.
He's going to be okay. Aomine told Kuroko in his mind, licking his hand and bumping his nose on it. Kuroko bent down embracing Aomine's neck, sighing and wishing it was true. Through the window, he could see how the sun was going dim and the sky turning black.
•••
Greece, Athens. 1999
In this old city, an old window opened to the old sky. Kuroko walked inside the old room, "Agnes, I'm here. How are you feeling?" Kuroko sat on a chair beside her bed.
"I feel what I feel. I wonder if you can feel the same cold I'm feeling? I wonder if you feel the same sensations I felt when I was young. Tell me, do you feel like I feel? To be and feel completely what someone else's feels is impossible, isn't it?"
She was human, but at the same she wasn't.
"It is." Kuroko answered, grabbing her hand.
"You know, for us mortals, death is unbiased. But, it is certainly curious how we still keep building things up, only for them to fall down, over and over, again and again, never stopping in an endless loop. I wonder whatever for? Can you answer me that, you, an immortal?"
She was a flicker of what she once was.
"I cannot." Kuroko never let go of her hand.
"I see. Then can you answer me why you, an immortal, do the same?"
"I cannot." He shook his head lightly, still holding her hand.
"I see. Some acts of men are wrong, some acts are right, they each have a respective correctness. Lies and truths balance each other out in this world. In some places, there's always laughter, while in others only silence echoes all the time. To drift away, or to commit, choices everywhere, choices all the time. Tell me, you immortal, what commitment are you looking for, or do you want to drift away?"
"I do not know yet." Kuroko looked at her sadly.
"I see. My mortal life is ending, immortal, and the sight I lost was replaced by a greater sight. I am seeing the future, do you wish to know yours?"
"I don't." Kuroko squeezed her hand lightly when she stopped talking, minutes ticked by and the world kept on moving around.
"My strength is leaving me, Kuroko," she said softly, "I see it... I'm sorry…. Kuroko, be courageous… and be strong… be strong for the ones you love"
Time passed by, and Kuroko finally let go of her hand.
•••
Kagami could barely stomach what he was drinking. Akashi sat across him at the table, watching his every move with his piercing glare. He felt like a prisoner behind the bars, suffocated in an enclosed room waiting to rot and die inside his cell. He shook himself awake, why was he thinking that? It wasn't like him to be this gloomy. Kagami glanced at Akashi warily; he was the cause, Kagami decided.
"Has Tetsuya ever told you about his past?" Akashi voice was clear, strong, and commanding.
Kagami was truly amazed how someone could use only their tone of voice and make someone feel puny. "What you mean by that?" a part of him was surprised to hear himself speak.
"Do you have the faintest idea of who Tetsuya really is?" Kagami didn't have the chance to reply, "What if you thought you knew everything about a person, but in end it turned out that everything you knew about them was just a reflection of your own desires?"
What the fuck are you talking about you creepy ass weirdo? was what Kagami really wanted to tell him. Instead, he wisely chose to say, "I don't really see your point."
Akashi didn't bat an eye at Kagami's reply, "This is how you humans are You question all your beliefs except for the ones you really believe in, and those that no one would ever think to question."
Kagami knew there was some truth behind Akashi's words, however he didn't see what relation it had with Kuroko or what was happening. He didn't have the faintest idea as to why this person was there, why he was there, or how he got to the room they were in. He was sure this counted as kidnapping, but Kagami didn't think that Akashi cared one bit about that fact.
"Would you like to change your past?"
The question was so sudden and out of place, that Kagami didn't know how to react at first.
"I can make your deepest wish a reality," Akashi said. His eye turned a golden color, and Kagami couldn't look away. He felt something stir within his chest, and memories flowed appeared in his mind where his mother was still alive and happy together with his father, memories of his childhood where they both were there for him, memories where they were at the dining table chatting like a real family, memories that made him feel loved and not broken or lonely.
Kagami eyes stung. Those feelings lingered in his chest like a fresh burn.
"I can change your past." Akashi told him, his eye turning back to its unique, yet normal red color, "But before you decide on anything, let me talk about Tetsuya." A small, strange, wistful smile appeared in his face.
•••
Japan, Tokyo airport. 6:27 a.m.
As soon as Kuroko stepped outside the airplane, someone wearing a dark suit walked up to him. Aomine growled in warning, but the man didn't seem fazed by the impending danger of being ripped apart by a gigantic dog. He reached inside his jacket, Aomine was ready to pounce at the man and crush his windpipe, but Kuroko's hand on his head stopped his actions.
"This is for you." He said, giving Kuroko a cell phone, he left with a polite bow. The cell phone rang and Kuroko picked it up.
[Good morning, Tetsuya.]
"Good morning, Akashi-kun."
[I am sure you are tired from your flight, but I have the inkling that you will disregard the mere notion of sleep in order to find him.]
"You know me well."
[I shall help you then, he's probably still at the Kyuinao Shrine.]
"What did you do to him?"
[We only talked about you. You have less than a week. Goodbye Tetsuya.]
The call ended just like that, Aomine-who was beside Kuroko at his feet-bumped his nose on his thigh.
"Yeah, I know. Let's go." Without much thought, Kuroko flung the cell phone as far as he could in the air. He was thoroughly satisfied to see the small device break upon impact with the first object it collided with.
There was a car already waiting for him, and not many people were able to see a black wolf first thing in the morning. They drove away, the sun had already risen by the time they reached their destination. Nevertheless, they both walked to the small shrine.
Aomine and Kuroko stopped a few feet away from it. Inn the steps of the shrine, Kagami was nodding off. Kuroko couldn't move, now countless of ideas came crashing down on his soul. What did he know? How would Kagami react when he saw him? What did Akashi do?
In that brief moment of doubt, Aomine trotted to where Kagami was and sniffed him. His nose roamed all over his clothes, and then Kagami opened his eyes blearily. When he saw, the black lump of fur with yellow eyes, he screamed, backing away as far as he could.
Aomine turned his head to where Kuroko was, and barked while simultaneously wagging his tail.
Kagami was ready to run for his life, when he saw a familiar silhouette behind the spawn of Satan.
"Kuroko!"
Kagami's voice snapped him out of his trance, "Kagami-kun, good morning."
"This isn't the time to exchange pleasantries! Call animal control or the police, quickly!" Kagami was fighting with his absolute need to run like the wind.
"Ah," Kuroko said, torn on how to handle the situation. Aomine meanwhile glanced at Kagami, who flinched and then at Kuroko, he barked slowly approaching Kuroko.
"For the love of God! Run!" Kagami panicked, as Aomine inched closer to Kuroko.
What the fuck is wrong with him? Aomine asked Kuroko.
He's afraid of dogs. Kuroko held in hands up, "Don't worry Kagami-kun. This one isn't dangerous. Besides he's not a dog," Kuroko nodded to himself saying in triumph, "He's a wolf."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Kagami's panic was rising more and more as the big wolf approached Kuroko.
This is gonna be interesting. Aomine hummed in his head, tail wagging.
Suddenly, Kagami heard how the wolf growled, the sound sending unpleasant shivers down his spine. It barked once with its powerful voice, causing his entire body to shake with dread. To Kagami's horror, the wolf leaped in the air, knocking Kuroko down with a thud. Kuroko's small frame disappeared entirely under the wolf's body. And before Kagami even registered what was happening, he was over there, pulling the animal away from Kuroko.
In the next instant, he was pinned down on the ground by the sheer force of the wolf's anterior paws, a white line of shining fangs hovered over his face as the wolf growled at him. Kagami thought he was dead, but Kuroko appeared in his line of vision, behind the wolf, and Kagami failed to yell at him to run.
"That's enough, Aomine-kun." Kuroko said, pulling lightly his left ear.
Aomine barked, nipping at his hand playfully, wagging his tail and dropping down, knocking out the air in Kagami's lungs as he did so.
"What the fuck-?" Kagami managed to say when the wolf licked his neck.
"Here, let me help you," Kuroko said, touching Kagami's hand-the one gripping Aomine's fur.
Yo, Kagami.
Kagami's confused face was priceless.
You know what, Kagami heard the voice in his head say as the wolf pawed his chest. You're an idiot.
•To Be Continued•
