"Kurokocchi! Before you say anything, please accept my apology!" Kise exclaimed, lowering his upper body into a bow even as he remained seated.

"What's wrong, Kise-kun? Why is there a need to apologise to me?"

Kise straightened up, and looked everywhere except at Kuroko. "That is… You see… Um…"

"Kise-kun, please speak clearly."

"Yes! I am apologising for taking advantage of you!" Kise clapped his hands together – palms flat against each other – as he lowered his head.

"…Taking advantage? So you're saying you did something to me?"

Kise slightly raised his head, peeking at Kuroko. He froze as he met Kuroko's fiery gaze. His mind worked at rapid speed, trying to figure out what it was that suddenly triggered Kuroko's rage.

"Ah! No, no, no! I didn't mean it that way!" Kise hurriedly babbled, waving his arms around. "What I meant was that I took advantage of your weakened state to ask you questions that you normally would not answer. …Though it was Midorimacchi that did most of the talking."

Kuroko deflated, leaning back into the sofa he was seated on. Kise let out a soft, concealed breath of relief as he saw Kuroko relax.

"I see," Kuroko said, "in that case, what have you learnt from me?"

Kise paused, thinking. "Hm, about dragon's blood and their uses? And also about how you apparently had a really close relationship with a black dragon."

A small smile appeared on Kuroko's lips, and Kise blinked.

"I see. Is that all?" Kuroko asked.

Kise nodded.

"Then, is there anything else you would like to know? For taking care of me while I was in that state, I shall answer your questions."

Kise stared at Kuroko, taking in his serious gaze. He smiled. Now was the time to ask what they needed to know. But first, he needed to know why it seemed as if Kuroko had some kind of split personality.

"Kurokocchi, if you don't mind me asking, why is it that your eyes change colours? And why do you seem like a different person when it does?"

Kuroko blinked, staring at Kise in confusion.

"My eyes changes colours?"

"Yeah! Earlier, it was a scary silver."

Kuroko lifted his hand to his chin, and appeared to be pondering it. He suddenly tilted his head, and seemed to be listening to something.

"I see, is that so?" He murmured quietly.

Kise was unsure if Kuroko was talking to him, since he had not even glanced his way. It looked as though Kuroko was talking to someone else. Abruptly, Kuroko turned his head and stared at Kise.

Kise flinched minutely.

"Kise-kun, do you remember when Midorima-kun said that I may have the blood of Dark Creatures in me?" Kuroko suddenly asked.

Kise nodded, "Yes."

"It looks like his guess was spot on. I do have that cursed blood flowing in my veins."

Kise gasped, "How can you be sure?"

Kuroko smiled a little.

"I have received confirmation."

"Received?"

"Yes, by the white dragon."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"In my body dwells the presence of a white dragon. I do not know if you have met her before, but now I can communicate with her." Kuroko held out his palm, and Kise closely examined it. There was a faint outline of what appeared to be a scale.

"…This… Is this a scale, Kurokocchi?"

"Yes, it is."

"Then…" Kise paused, fidgeting nervously.

"The white dragon came from the palace, and she clearly holds the information that you and Midorima-kun are after. But she is still refusing to tell me, so I'm afraid that I can't help you yet."

"I see." Kise mumbled lowly, dejected.

"But to answer your questions, Kise-kun, the reason why my eyes changes colour and why I seem to turn into another person is because of the Dark Creatures' blood. It is something like a side effect of sorts. I don't turn into a hideous beast physically, but my mental state is affected."

"Your mental state?" Kise stared at Kuroko, wide-eyed. He recalled the strange, weak Kuroko who seemed about to break.

"Oh, I don't mean what happened to me. That was a different matter. What I meant by mental state is that, my mind becomes similar to that of a cruel predator. I would be overcome by this urge to kill or torture whoever it is that opposes me. But there isn't any need to worry, I can restrain myself, mostly."

Kise was gaping at Kuroko, unable to form words.

Kuroko hummed.

"Have you heard of the saying, 'weak to the weak, strong to the strong'? My power and mental state would fluctuate according to my enemies. If my enemy is weak, there would not be any effect on me. When my enemy is strong enough to give me a decent fight however, that's when I would be affected by the cursed blood in me."

Kuroko tilted his head, listening to something Kise couldn't hear.

"The white dragon says that due to the blood of the vile creatures, my body has undergone a serious change. I do not have limitations like an ordinary mage. The power of my magic will increase endlessly in a fight against someone strong."

Kise suddenly laughed, glowing with happiness.

"Then, doesn't it mean that you're invincible? That's amazing, Kurokocchi!"

But Kuroko slowly shook his head.

"Not quite, Kise-kun. Because I do not have limitations, it is difficult for me to know when to stop against a strong opponent. Think of it like an invisible balloon, Kise-kun. Because you can't see where to stop, you continue to blow and blow, and eventually it would burst without warning."

Kuroko ran a hand through his hair, looking a little conflicted. He sighed.

"When I was with the black dragon, I was not overtaken by the cursed blood because of the bond I had with it. With how the dragon had cherished me, I need not fear death even after using a large amount of power because I knew that the dragon would not let me die. But with a stranger as an opponent, it is different. I may successfully kill my enemy, but at the same time, I may also die along with them.

"There is no such thing as a warning for me. An ordinary person will feel fatigue, feel as if their body can no longer move once they have reached their limits. However, in my case, my body continues to move and attack endlessly, until I die with no prior warnings."

Now Kise had shrunk into his seat, looking pained.

Kuroko continued, "Training with a dragon is no easy task, and I have died many, many times. Even so, I can never tell where my limits are. It's dangerous, it's frustrating. But this is what I am, and I have accepted it."

Kuroko silently stood up, making his way over to Kise. He jabbed his palm into Kise's side, causing Kise to yelp and turn wide, confused eyes onto Kuroko.

Kuroko let a small laugh slip past his lips as he observed Kise's reactions.

"You don't have to make that face, Kise-kun. That is only in a worst case scenario. I told you, right? I can restrain myself. Though I have yet to fight against a stranger who is exceptionally strong, so far, I am able to stop myself from being pulled into the madness of this cursed blood whenever I use my powers."

Kuroko blinked, suddenly looking mildly embarrassed.

"Though the change in eye colours is something I do not have control over. So, if I frightened you, my apologies."

"Ah. No, it's okay."

Kise stared at Kuroko for a little, hesitant to bring up this topic.

"What is it, Kise-kun? Do you have something else to ask?"

Kise lowered his gaze, nervously fiddling with his hands.

"Kurokocchi, I have a question that may make you very uncomfortable."

"It's alright, Kise-kun. What is it?"

Squeezing his eyes shut, Kise rushed out his words in a single breath. "A few days ago, you suddenly became weird. What is the reason for your scary drastic change? What happened, Kurokocchi?"

Kuroko did not answer and Kise finally opened up his eyes, looking at a softly smiling Kuroko.

"Kurokocchi…?"

"Kise-kun, looks like you finally managed to get that question out. During the whole time we were conversing earlier, you had looked like you had another question that you wanted me to answer instead."

Blood rushed to Kise's face, colouring his cheeks and ears red from embarrassment.

"That… I… Uh…"

Kise's stuttered reply was interrupted by the sound of a door opening.

Both Kise and Kuroko glanced up, and Kuroko stared blankly at the person who had easily broken the barrier he had placed around the inn. And it was also extremely unsettling how he had no idea of his barriers being taken down until the person was before him.

"Yo." The person drawled, followed by the sound of crunching.

"We didn't receive any news from you, so I was sent by him to check up on you."

Kise shot up from the couch, pointing rather rudely at the person still standing at the entryway.

"Murasakibaracchi!"

"Yo, Kise-chin."

"W-why are you here, Murasakibaracchi?"

"Didn't I already say that I was sent by him? Kise-chin, has your hearing gotten worse? Anyway, I see someone new."

Kuroko stared back at the giant towering over him. Lazy eyes observed him carefully as the giant continued to munch on a snack.

"And?" He drawled, "Who're you?"

Kuroko was not given a chance to answer as Kise was suddenly standing in front of him. "Murasakibaracchi, this is Kurokocchi! He's with us!"

"Hm?" Murasakibara blinked. "Is he? But he didn't say anything."

Kise scratched his face, looking flustered. "We have yet to send a letter, so he doesn't know." Kise turned to Kuroko, and began a very brief introduction.

"Murasakibaracchi, this is Kuroko Tetsuya. Kurokocchi, this giant is Murasakibara Atsushi."

Kuroko nodded slowly and politely greeted Murasakibara.

Murasakibara hummed in reply, looking around the inn. His gaze landed on the second floor.

"Kise-chin, why is there so much of Mido-chin's magic coming from the second floor?" He asked as he bit into his snack.

Kise directed his gaze towards the second floor as well. "Midorimacchi says he's doing a purification magic."

"Purification? Mido-chin actually used that magic? Eh, why?" Murasakibara frowned. His eyes snapped back to where Kuroko was, narrowed with displeasure. "Is it you? Mido-chin helped you?"

Kuroko's heartbeat picked up, and his body began to thrum. The more Kuroko stared into Murasakibara's eyes, the faster his heart raced. Was this fear? Was Kuroko afraid of this person before him?

…No.

This wasn't fear.

This was anticipation.

The person before him was strong.

His blood sang with urgency, bloodlust and euphoria. Kuroko wanted to fight this man. He wanted… He wanted to make this man kneel before him. This man had broken through the barrier around the inn so easily, he would surely give Kuroko a worthy fight.

"Kurokocchi? What's wrong? Why are you frozen?"

Kuroko turned his face away from Murasakibara, taking deep, calming breaths. "It's nothing." He mumbled towards Kise.

Once he had more control over himself, Kuroko looked back at Murasakibara who was near glaring at him. Kuroko said, "Yes, it was me. Midorima had unselfishly helped me when I was lost."

Murasakibara seemed to have growled at him, but he eventually just turned away.

"Since Mido-chin willingly helped you, I won't do anything to you yet. But if you hurt Mido-chin any more than you already have, I will crush you."

Murasakibara strolled past Kuroko and Kise, seating himself onto the couch.

"Murasakibaracchi, you're staying?" Kise asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"Kise-chin, has the emperor made any moves?"

A deep frown marred Kise's usual smiling façade as he nodded. "Just before you arrived, there was a beast sent by the emperor."

Kuroko interrupted then, "Kise-kun, actually there were two beasts."

Kise whipped around to face Kuroko.

"Two? But I was only fighting one!"

"I killed the other one that was approaching from the back before it came near the inn."

Kise paused, blinking. "Is that so? Thanks, Kurokocchi!" He smiled brightly as he tousled Kuroko's hair.

Kuroko pushed Kise's hand away as he grunted in mild annoyance.

Murasakibara was silently watching their interaction as he continued to eat.

x

"Oi, you've been slacking off recently."

"Ah? I have not. I was keeping track of all my citizens."

"You have, you have! I'm so bored. Hurry up and send us out already!"

"Exactly. Stop slacking off, aren't you the emperor? Let the both of us out to play."

"You guys are so rude. I said I wasn't slacking. In fact, I found something interesting."

"Eh? Interesting? What is it?"

"Our little rebel group seems to have gained someone new."

"Seriously?"

"I can recognise most of their attacks, except for their infuriatingly strong leader. Anyway, my beasts were killed by someone whose magic attacks appeared to be rather advanced. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a look. Seems like the new person either hides really well or that they may have known about my ability to see through the eyes of my beasts."

"It sounds so fun! Hey, hey, let me go check them out!"

"What are you saying? Stop dreaming 'cause I'm going instead!"

"No way! It's me, me! It's been a long time since I went out!"

"Hah? You're always going out! It's my turn now!"

"That's just because you're always so lazy!"

"Hah? You looking for a fight, you midget?"

"…You, you disrespectful brat! Show some respect for your seniors!"

"Alright, stop fighting. Neither of you are leaving."

"Eh!"

"Why not!"

"Now is not the time. There are still things I have to prepare for. I will send you out soon, be patient for a while more."

T.B.C