Here's chapter 9 :3


"I looked at you and recognized you instantly. All of our lives flashed through my mind in a split second."

Chapter 9

Furihata jolted out of his sleep once again, panting, his body breaking into cold sweat and eyes darting around the big empty room. It took him a few moments to remember he was sleeping in one of the guest rooms in the Akashi manor in Kyoto. His breathing gradually slowed down.

Last night, after listening to the story of the curse, they were joined by Kagami, who returned from his job, to have dinner in the main hall. He and Akashi were deeply lost in thought and were only nibbling on their food. Kagami, who had no idea about what happened when he was away, tried his best to brighten up the mood at the table, and Furihata had to admit watching the man eating a portion that could easily feed ten other men, was quite amusing.

But, each time he lied down on the futon and closed his eyes, it'll only be a matter of a few minutes before he's jolted back awake.

Sleeping in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar bed was never something he was comfortable with, but this time it was different. For, whenever he managed to fall asleep, dreams of a younger version of himself playing in the clearing with Akashi…only to be engulfed in darkness seconds later, haunted him.

But, what confused him the most was the nostalgic feeling he got after each of those dreams.

Deciding he wasn't going to get much sleep this night, he heaved a sigh and got up. He fished for his jacket inside the bag he brought and put it on and opened the doors to the back garden he stumbled upon this afternoon when he arrived. He instantly hugged his arms in an attempt to gain more warmth as he walked outside in the cold night.

The fresh air and the calm atmosphere did little to lift up his mood, as he continued to be occupied with thoughts about the story and the dreams he was having. He had initially come here to learn more about Akashi, about the fate they both shared, but now that he knew there were others who lost their lives to the misfortunes, he couldn't help but think, that maybe coming here wasn't a good idea after all.

He was scared.

More so, than before.

He'd already almost lost his life in the past two misfortunes, and now that he knew others have actually died, he couldn't see how he and Akashi were to stay alive. His grip on his jacket tightened, worry already accumulating in his heart.

His feet came to a sudden stop. It wasn't the wooden bench, or the beautiful oak tree that drew his attention, but the red haired guy who was sitting on the bench, absentmindedly staring at the stars, a shogi board abandoned by his side, and a cup of a hot beverage in his hands.

Furihata was reminded of the first time he saw Akashi back at the café, staring at the people outside the glass window, emitting that aura of refinement and intimidation. And just like that time, Akashi's head turned his way, his mismatched eyes meeting his brown ones.

Furihata's heart skipped a beat.

"Couldn't sleep?" Akashi asked, took a sip from his cup and motioned for Furihata to come closer.

A blush instantly made its way to Furihata's cheeks as he was caught staring once more, yet this time he couldn't pull away from those dichromatic eyes as he walked to sit on the bench to Akashi's right.

Those were the same eyes haunting his dreams, the eyes of the young Akashi, and the same eyes he saw on Akashi a few times before, the eyes that replaced his usual red ones. Before Furihata could realize what he was doing, his fingers were already touching Akashi's cheek, a little bellow his left eye.

"Your eye…"

It was when Akashi's looked at him a little confusingly, that Furihata finally snapped out of his daze and retracted his hand, his earlier blush deepening in color.

"What about my eyes, Kouki?" Akashi asked, and Furihata felt like cursing his own heart for beating faster at the mention of his first name.

"N-nothing! It's just…y-your eyes are normally both red, but sometimes your left eye seems…" He trailed at the end of his sentence, as he once more locked gazes with Akashi's eyes and he had to grip on his hand to stop it from reaching for Akashi's face.

Akashi only smirked.

"Golden? Yes I'm well aware of it, you're not mistaken," Akashi, calmly answered and took another sip of his cup.

"Eh?" Furihata blinked at him and Akashi couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the confused expression on his face.

"Surely, you must have noticed by now, Kouki. Try and figure it out," Akashi said and smirked again, the teasing tone only managed to confuse Furihata even more.

Furihata wanted to argue it was already so late at night and he was just woken up from several nightmares and that there was no way he would be able to think clearly about something, yet his mind was already recalling each incident he'd seen the redhead with dichromatic eyes, and how his personality seemed to differ slightly than when he had both his red eyes, along with the way he would address Furihata.

Furihata could feel his head aching from all the memories he was remembering, when his mind paused at a particular one at Akashi's birthday, from when he was confronted by Akashi's father about the curse.

"Your presence stirs Akashi's second personality,"

Second personality…

His mind put two and two together.

"The look on your face, tells me you've figured it out," Akashi stated, amused by Furihata's baffled expression.

"T-then, you're not Akashi-kun?"

"No, there's always been two of us, we merely trade places. But we're both Akashi Seijuurou, in a way," Akashi explained, his earlier smirk turning into a small smile.

"I-I see," Furihata didn't know what else to say as he stared at his lap.

More than being surprised to find out there were actually two Akashi Seijuurous, he was surprised at himself for accepting the news so readily, not finding the situation the slightest bit odd, as if somewhere deep within himself, he'd always known this was the case.

The silence that followed wasn't awkward, but not at all comfortable as both of them struggled to start a conversation. Now that Furihata thought about it, he'd never once talked properly with the golden eyed Akashi. He was either being a rather rude customer at the café, or busy saving Furihata from a speeding train, and there was that one time in the kitchen where they talked for a minute before he started kissing Furihata's falling tears.

His cheeks turned scarlet at the memory once again, and he wished he could blame all this blushing on the cold.

He shook his head in a futile attempt to rid of the redness, but stopped when his nose caught the aroma of a sweet peppermint scent, and turned his gaze to the cup in Akashi's hands.

"C-cinnamon?" He blurted out, not entirely meaning to say his thoughts out loud. Akashi looked a little startled at the sudden question, but it was short lived as he regained his composure rather soon and smiled softly at Furihata, an expression the brunet was surprised to see.

"Cinnamon has a calming effect on the nerves; I've always enjoyed its taste,"

"I noticed," Furihata said with a small chuckle. Akashi raised his brow at him, which turned Furihata's chuckles into nervous laughter

"Y-you know! The first time I saw you at the café! You weren't satisfied with your drink, until I put cinnamon in it!" Furihata said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh," Akashi said, as he recalled the events of his first day in Tokyo, after the private investigator provided him with Furihata's information. That day held a bitter sweet memory for him.

"I do apologize for that day, it wasn't my intent to be a difficult customer,"

"It's fine, really!" Furihata said, flailing his hands a bit, "Y-you were really scary back then. You know, you could have just told me you liked cinnamon, " He continued, and couldn't help but chuckle when he remembered the satisfied expression on Akashi's face as he drank his coffee.

"…I thought you'd remember," Akashi muttered under his breath, in a barely audible tone.

"Mmm?" Furihata looked at Akashi, wondering if he'd heard him say something. Akashi shook his head.

"It's nothing. You never told me what kept you awake," Akashi said, skillfully changing the subject.

Furihata's carefree expression changed instantly, and he, instead, wore a worried expression and hugged his arms closely while shifting his gaze to his feet. Talking to Akashi for a few minutes made him forget about the whole ordeal.

"Kouki, what's wrong?" Akashi asked again, eyeing the brunet closely.

For a good minute, Furihata didn't answer.

"I've…been having nightmares," Furihata admitted after a long pause, still not making eye contact with Akashi. "My head's been messed up ever since the talk with your grandmother. I can't help but feel…scared,"

Furihata's head jerked up, when he felt a hand ruffling his brown hair. He looked up at Akashi, who didn't seize his actions, but started threading his fingers into Furihata's hair instead. It felt so comforting, so calming that Furihata lost himself to the touch, subconsciously, leaning further towards Akashi.

"It's okay to feel scared. We're up against a power stronger than us, after all. But, you shouldn't give up so soon,"

"H-how can you be so sure we're going to make it?"

Akashi's hand stopped, his expression hardening and his other hand tightening around the cup.

"I'm not." He calmly said, but Furihata could hear the slight waver in his voice. "I'm simply not giving up,"

Akashi slid his hand from Furihata's hair down the side of his face and stopped at his cheek.

"I've already lost you too many times before,"

Any other day, Furihata would have turned a hundred shades of red, but right now his mind was much occupied with Akashi's statement, to pay attention to the embarrassment. He stared at Akashi in confusion, which made the redhead sigh.

"You really don't remember anything?" Akashi asked, his eyes looking deep into Furihata's own. Furihata shook his head.

"Remember what, exactly? W-what do you mean?"

Akashi furrowed his eyebrows, seemingly in thought before fixing his serious gaze on Furihata again. Furihata flinched at the intensity of Akashi's gaze, no entirely sure if he wanted to know the true meaning behind Akashi's words.

"Do you trust me, Kouki?"

Furihata's heart skipped a beat at the question, and for a moment he thought he saw the image of the younger Akashi looking at him with the same gaze and extending his hand. He blinked once and the younger Akashi was gone, and Akashi's dichromatic eyes were still staring into his.

"I do,"

The words escaped his mouth, almost mechanically. Not that Furihata thought they weren't true.

"Then, play a game of Shogi with me and I'll tell you everything," He demanded with a smirk, holding a shogi piece in his hand.

"I've n-never played shogi before!" Furihata said, baffled by Akashi's strange request.

"You said you trusted me, didn't you?"

Furihata sighed in defeat and nodded, and Akashi wasted no time in arranging the stones on the shogi board, it actually felt refreshing to see Akashi this excited about doing something.

Akashi moved one of his stones first, and Furihata moved his, second, without taking any time to think about his move. Akashi smirked, and Furihata couldn't understand the reason behind Akashi's expression, until it was Furihata's turn again. Just like the first time, his hand reached for a different stone, all on its own and moved it forward.

This time Furihata's eyes widened while looking at the board and at his own hand accusingly, for he could tell what each of the stones were called and he was, already, going through several plans and moves in his head.

He was sure he'd never touched a shogi board in his life, yet he couldn't think of a logical explanation to what was happening.

He looked at Akashi again, his brown eyes wide with shock. And it was the second time he thought he saw the younger Akashi, smirking victoriously at him while holding a shogi piece in his hand. He shook his head, wishing to rid of the hallucinations that were becoming a regular occurrence in this house.

"H-how!?"

Akashi remained calm, but the smirk didn't leave his face.

"It's because you're the one who taught me how to play," He placed the shogi piece on the board with a click. "Though, I must say, the pupil surpassed the teacher rather quickly,"

"What do you m-mean by that!? I don't remember teaching you anything," Furihata said, standing up, feeling his heart beat faster. "That time at the café was the first time I saw you,"

Furihata head ached with confusion.

Akashi heaved a small sigh, got up from the bench and stood closely in front of the flustered brunet and slowly reached for his hand.

"The first time we met, was at the clearing, all those hundreds of years ago…"

"Wha-"

"The story you heard wasn't about our 'ancestors', those were us," Akashi squeezed Furihata's hand then continued. "The guardian of fortune was you, Kouki. The first life that we've lived,"

"W-what? That's im-" Furihata wanted to say impossible, yet he couldn't bring himself to dismiss the idea entirely. He knew by now that Akashi wasn't one to joke or tell lies. He took a deep breath in to try and calm down, and looked at Akashi again.

"How?"

Akashi's grip on his hand didn't falter.

"As my grandmother mentioned, the binding contract binds our souls. When we die, we're reborn a hundred years later, bearing the same curse we had back then," Akashi's eyes closed. "It was the solution you mother came up with,"

"My mother…"

The face of a long-haired woman with a soft smile popped in his head, and Furihata quickly clutched to his aching head.

"I know it's a lot to take in at the moment, but …"Akashi tugged on Furihata's hand, yanking him forward a little forcefully. Furihata stumbled on his feet and collided with Akashi's body, who wrapped an arm around Furihata's waist, while his other held the back of Furihata's head resting on his chest.

Amidst all his confusion, Furihata couldn't help but blush at the sudden close proximity. For once, he was glad Akashi couldn't see his face right now. Just like the time at the train station, when Akashi had hugged close, he felt instantly safe in his arms and he, hesitantly, wrapped his around Akashi's back. He felt the redhead somewhat relax at his touch.

"You're taking too long to remember, Kouki,"

Akashi's heart was beating faster, and there was a slight tremble to his hands. Furihata had never heard his name uttered with such deep emotions before. And the only thing he could ever think about, was wanting to see Akashi's expression at this moment.

He freed himself from Akashi's vice grip and took a step back, Akashi still kept a loose grip on his waist. He looked up at him, his brown eyes melting into Akashi's mismatched pools. His mouth was set in a straight line, but Furihata could see the fleeting pain in his eyes. It was a strange expression to see on the redhead, especially now that Furihata was so used to his sweet smiles, or teasing smirks.

The wind picked up around them, ruffling both of their hair. But, other than the rustling of the trees, the garden was quiet as the two silently kept staring into each other's eyes. As a pinkish hue adorned their cheeks, be it from the cold, or something else, Furihata didn't know.

He, abruptly, stood on his toes and pressed his dry lips to Akashi's own.

Both let a little gasp into the kiss, as Furihata's body had moved on its own and Akashi wasn't anticipating such a sudden and bold move. Akashi was quick to recover from the shock, though, and was quick to secure his arm around Furihata's waist, pressing his lips more firmly. Furihata's shoulders relaxed, his hands resting on Akashi's chest as he returned his kiss with eagerness.

His lips tasted of cinnamon.

It was a familiar taste.


I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. as I've mentioned I will be updating chapter 10 and 11 in a few days. I'd love to hear your thoughts :3

Thank you for reading