Chapter 9

It was almost humorous, because Kuroko had been anticipating a variety of colorful violent reactions - he even began thinking of what his last words would be, which was something along the lines of fuck and you - and yet again preparing himself for the worst case scenarios, but what he wasn't expecting was the man, who with a stoned expression, proceeding to carry out a conversation with him as if it was the most ordinary and sane thing to do.

"Myosotis sylvatic."

What?

There was a short silence, before, "The blue flowers. You know, they bloom best in this season."

I don't care...?

His eyes were trained on the flowers growing on the wall.

Another pause.

"They match your hair."

Kuroko had kept quiet for a long while, stunned beyond comprehension and unsure of what to say or even do because what could anyone in his situation possibly do. He knew for sure that the man was possibly psychotic and if not, had been dropped as a baby. But one thing was for certain - his irritation and annoyance that were almost at their peak.

"Are you making fun of me?"

The man, for the first time, revealed a flicker of response, his eyebrows dipping for a second as he turned his upper body around to face him. "No."

"Then what are you doing?" Kuroko asked, his hands clenching into balls. "I don't know what the hell you people are, nor do you know who I am, and you know I know I can't out-strength you, so you decide to ignore me then tell me how I look like flowers." He gritted his teeth, "Tell me, which part of that isn't mocking?"

There was another delayed response as he cocked his head and blinked, surprise an evident visage. "But I didn't say you looked like flowers, I said your hair matches the color of it."

"Oh my god, I don't fucking care!" Kuroko exclaimed, feeling a refreshing burst of new energy surge through him as he spurted out a cuss word - something he hardly did unless extremely ruffled - and with new found confidence, he huffed impulsively, "Look, do you want to kill me or not?" The other party blinked once again in bemusement as the boy took a little step forward. "Because maybe you think this is a fun mutually inclusive game, but I hate to break it to you that between you and I, you're the only one who feels that way." His chest was on fire. "I have had enough of a shitty day- or week, or however fucking long you ferets have been keeping me locked up here and I don't have any more time to waste so please," He said in one breath, "stop doing it on your and my behalf, and christ just let me go if you don't plan on mutilating me."

All right, hands down. He sounded cool - was the first thought that came to mind. The boy liked to imagine that if there had been spectators, they would've exploded in applause.

Admittedly, he was trembling as he said so - and he could practically picture the same tiny rational part of him throwing its arms up in a fit, saying "All right, that's it," and packing it's suitcase as it prepared to resign from the premises of his mind - but under the influence of the heat of the moment, all other senses didn't seem as significant as he figured there wasn't anything to lose now because the creeping realization was slowly dawning on him that if he hadn't been doubled fucked over before, he was positively lying in his coffin now, mangled and marred.

The man however, looked taken aback; as he turned fully around to face the boy, making the latter begin to feel like swallowing back his rash, but very suave, words.

But then, like every extraordinarily queer action he had pulled on the night itself, the red head chuckled, before turning into a full blown laugh, reminding him of melted chocolate over a warm fire - something he had the luxury of tasting only less than a couple of times. It had been such a pleasant surprise, both the laughter and his reaction in general, that Kuroko felt his anger quickly dissipating against his will, as his senses attuned themselves to his laughter - something he presumed the man didn't do quite so often.

What was he laughing at? Was he laughing at him? Was there something on his face? Was it something he sai- of course.

He must think him an idiot now.

The man was bent over, his previously lazily styled hair falling over his eyes and the side of his face. He had one hand over his mouth, resting on the ledge, and the other grabbing lightly at his stomach in a fit of uncontrolled laughter that filled the air around the boy, who had been feeling like an uninvited interloper to – to what?

He felt his cheeks oddly heating up as he looked away, in a fervent effort to remain mad, because he was, but his tensed muscles had already begun relaxing as the jovial sound assaulted his ears, and he thought, damn, that was a foul move, and it made him too past annoyed when he realized he couldn't find it anywhere in him to interrupt his little display of emotions. Unwillingly and with no other viable options, Kuroko pursed his lips and waited somewhat uncomfortably for it to die down - and soon enough, it did.

The man muttered a few words under his breath with a mirthful expression plastered on his features, as he let a couple of final chuckles escape. "What?" Kuroko questioned, frowning as he took a small step back, suddenly becoming more aware of the gravity of his situation, his heart and brain finally and gradually feeling the after effects of adrenaline as his mental processes began to slow down.

"Nothing," the man said quietly, "Apologies." The last trace of amusement disappeared along with small echoes of laughter hanging in the air, his face returning to its previous stoic expression as they both fell into a silence that Kuroko was painfully aware shouldn't have been this comfortable with the entire context of the situation - but strangely enough, it was.

"Not now."

The boy looked at him, feeling the familiar and very welcomed surge of irritation flushing through his veins once again.

"What?"

"You can't leave - at least not right now."

"At least not - wha - why the hell not?" Was he going to skin him after all?

"You can go in the morning." He replied curtly.

Kuroko was certain his face mirrored the epitome of irritation as he closed his eyes testily, appealing help from the modicum of sanity lingering in him.

"Why." He found himself stating more than asking. Who the hell did this man think he was?

"Because."

And that was the last straw that broke the camel's back. This was obviously going nowhere, and if he was trying to be difficult, then there was nothing Kuroko could do.

He puffed in annoyance, looking at the door which was so very close from his peripheral vision and decided fuck it. He was practically knee deep in his self-dug grave and this dotty man probably would've gutted him come sunrise, so the point in holding back now was none, and if was going to die, he certainly wasn't going down without a fight, Kuroko bit the inside of his cheek as he rationed with himself, finding the conclusion to be plausible.

He turned around sharply, bolting towards the door as he just went for it, grabbing the handle and yanking it open, feeling a rush of incredulous hope as he might actually succeed – but naturally, the thought was fleeting and mercilessly crushed when the door was slammed back down with a loud thud.

His heart skipped a beat and his vision blurred as Kuroko realized there was an arm now inches beside his face, and said arm was the culprit of the slammed door.

He shifted his vision to his left, and below where the palm laid was a huge dent in the hard wooden structure.

A goddamned dent.

Kuroko stared at the newly deformed area in cold sweat, his heart rate picking up its pace by a tenfold. He hardly had time to process anything because shortly after, he had a sickening realization.

The man hadn't exactly been leaning on him, but he had been close enough such that his chest pressed against Kuroko's back, who noticed that despite the relatively close proximity, it had remained oddly cold. It was strange, how he radiated practically no bodily heat, and the only other reason Kuroko was aware that there had been another being close by was due to the unmistakable knowledge of heavy breathing down his neck. It sent chills down his spine and he shivered, but whether due to fear or not he wasn't quite sure.

If he hadn't been immobilized before, he would've been paralyzed by then.

What the hell had he done again.

He found himself unconsciously trying for the handle again, tugging at it subtly, though he held no hope of it ever opening again.

It hadn't been subtle enough though, because the next thing he knew, there was a swift swipe of a hand from his right that collided with the large metal door handle, sending it tumbling across the balcony. Kuroko's hand was left in the air, frozen still from the harsh impact and underlying danger. He looked to his left, mouth gaping slightly as he focused on the deformed metal lying defeated on the floor. The once solid structure had bits of its ends flying across the small space, ensued by metallic clinking echoing the place. The wall had it worse though, because the impact had created a large depression in its previously smooth surface, with a large chunk of the cement cracking and adding onto the cluster of debris beginning to pile on the floor.

"I said, in the morning."

Screw him, Kuroko thought, even as he began to tremble under the pressure. His vision shifted between white and black and he became gradually aware of the growing sound of pounding blood in his head, unfamiliar with the intensity of emotions flushing through him. There were so many things he would've liked to say to his face, but as he looked at the damaged concrete, he felt his resolve crumbling like it did and decided against it. He clenched his fist as a loose shaky breath escaped, eyes focusing on a random point on the wall as he kept silent. His chest heaved heavily as he tried to steady himself from the looming prospect of his muscles completely failing him. Goosebumps surfaced as the man's cold breath continued tickling his neck and Kuroko did his best to calm his irrational nerves.

There was palpable tension in the air for almost a solid minute with neither party saying anything - up until the red haired man sighed softly and almost resignedly, before quietly, he said, "The wolves hunt at night. I don't think you'd appreciate your family finding your bones mixed in a pile of dog crap."

Of course, Kuroko wasn't convinced, hell, not in the slightest, and at this point he felt being eaten by wolves would've been a much better option. At least he would be doing his part for nature.

But there obviously wasn't much room for argument, so instead, he settled for nodding stiffly, deciding that agreeing would be the wiser option. The man, seemingly satisfied with his short lackluster response now, finally lifted his weight off. He turned around slowly, and let out another shaky breath of relief he hadn't known he had been holding as he visibly deflated, huffing and puffing as if he had been running a long mile. If anything, that had been too close to, death, in fact. What in the world had he been thinking?

Last time he'd ever push his luck again.

As the thought filled his head, the man lifted his hand off the door, and walked swiftly towards the bench again, where he sat down, leaning back with both poise and elegance as he flicked his head up to gaze at the stars in familiar wonder.

What?

What was that supposed to mean for him? Was the danger over? Was that an invitation for him to sit down too - or worse, beside him? Because there was no way in hell he was going to place his ass anywhere next to the man's. Kuroko had still been terrified stiff, and the bottom half of his body refused to cooperate as they glued themselves to the floor. He let silence occupy the air, shifting around timidly with confusion and fear as he fiddled with his thumbs and looked around anxiously, trying to decipher the possible hidden meanings behind his enigmatic actions.

But five minutes passed, then fifteen, and the man didn't so much as fidget or speak, but had just stared at the splatters of light in the sky for a solid quarter of an hour. Well, the boy wasn't going to initiate the conversation. He was pissed, and nonplussed and embarrassed and it felt just like as if the whole gamut of his emotions had decided to gang up against him to mess with his mind. Then as the boy came to the conclusion that his feet were really starting to hurt from the unhealed injuries on his soul and that he really needed to sit, the man broke the silence,

"Are you just going to stand there the entire night?"

The boy looked at his back, his mouth drying as no reply came out.

"I have no issues with that, of course, if you prefer a vertical advantage." The man finally lifted his attention off the stars and gave it to him, "but your feet may not like it as much."

Silence. How did -

"They're bleeding," he nodded towards his feet. "You should rewrap them."

The man looked at him, and to say it discomforted Kuroko would've been a universal understatement.

Well no shit!

He looked intelligent but perhaps Kuroko had been wrong. Rewrap them with what? His fucking – presumably – large ego? Well that wouldn't be extremely comfortable now, would it? The boy resisted the urge to roll his eyes as his legs finally relented to the pressure and he sat down, leaning hesitantly against the wall as his feet cried out in relief. He noticed in dismay that the bandages were soaked in patches of blood that left their marks all over the floor around him.

It hurt, but at that point in time, Kuroko had been too exhausted both mentally and physically - and not to mention he had long run out of any fucks to give – to take care of them.

He'll leave in the morning, and he hoped the man kept to his word. He sighed quietly, leaning back against the wall further as he settled in for the cold night.

As Kuroko was being lulled to sleep slowly by the beat of rustling leaves, the man said, "I'll make arrangements for your safe exit tomorrow morning." A pause. "Rest well."

What a nice guy.

The boy rolled his eyes behind his fluttering eyelids. He had been tentative about falling asleep with the man in his vicinity but his body was screaming at him to rest and he was so very tired. Kuroko convinced himself that the imminent threat of death had been more or less reduced now, he supposed.

After a while he felt the telltale sign of looming sleep, as his eyelids began to droop down and the first indication of slumber finally dawned on him.

That night he dreamt of red snakes chasing barefooted him with boomerangs.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

(very late Q&A, but better late than never right heh)

Assasin8 Probably... *wink wink*

Crye of the Fallen Kuroko is sixteen now! His little family is around the same age as him, the oldest being 19. Kise is about 20,,, (you're gonna have to find the rest out later heheh)

ok i finally got around to answer some of the questions i hope it isnt too late

and as always, if you've enjoyed the story, remember to leave a review - it would make my day!

xelia