DISCLAIMER!: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke and the cover image used for the fanfic. Both belong to their respective owners.

If you don't like yaoi (boy x boy) then please don't read this.

Blue Sword Arc

Chapter 10 - Blue Flames

Kuroko's heavy eyelids slowly began to open. At first his gaze was blurry but when he blinked a couple of times he had realized something strange. He was back in his box?

Kuroko slowly sat up, his head as heavy as a rock. He felt dizzy and stiff but then when his eyes adjusted to the light, he could make out an outline of a figure before him.

It was Aomine, the demon he had met yesterday. "So he didn't leave?" Kuroko wondered, touching his head. So the demon had caught him? What's worse, in the condition he's in right now, Kuroko doubted he could attempt to run away again.

While Kuroko was waking up, Aomine was on the border of the world of dreams and reality. He was about to doze off but just when the thought had come to him, he noticed Kuroko moving and sitting up.

'Sleep well?' Aomine asked, grabbing Kuroko's attention as the bluenette shot him a look. By the looks of it, the human didn't seem pleased.

Aomine stretched his limbs before rubbing his back, 'You know I saved you right? I'm not your enemy.' Aomine watched as the human leaned against the wall, still keeping his eyes on the demon.

Kuroko didn't say anything but kept looking at Aomine who didn't know what to do. "This human is strange… Still he smells really good."

Aomine sighed as he leaned on the wall as well. The two sat in silence, opposite of one another, while Kuroko kept staring at Aomine with his glare. "Come to think of it… how did the demon know where I live?" Kuroko never told him anything so how did he know? He wondered but luckily Aomine could make out what he thought when his expression changed from glaring to thinking.

'This place smells a lot like you.' Aomine said and Kuroko deadpanned.

'I'm sorry that I smell like garbage.' After all, Kuroko found the boxes in junk.

'No! That's not what I meant! I mean that if you stay in a place for a longer time then your scent will rub off of it.' Aomine tried explaining but Kuroko was still offended.

'Are you a dog?'

'No!' Geez… this human is really weird.

The silence resumed. "Great… This is definitely not going to leave a good impression. Especially since the human in question is Akashi's human". Being labeled as "Akashi's human" automatically made Kuroko important to the demon royalty. It meant that no other demon could touch him and that he is one of the most valuable humans there is. So with that… how was Aomine going to get on his good side?

Aomine sighed, leaning on the wall again. Kuroko's eyes were still glued on the demon before him. Then in the awkward silence, something grumbled.

Aomine opened one of his closed eyes to see a blushing Kuroko who put his hand on his stomach. The demon sat up to ruffle through the bag that was beside him. The human watched curiously and cautiously as he did.

'Here.' Aomine threw an object he had grabbed from the bag into the air to Kuroko who was ready to catch it but it slipped and fell beside him. The human took the object that is a… wrapped sandwich?

Kuroko looked up at Aomine. 'You're hungry right? You can have that.'

'I can't accept this.'

'Huh? Why not?'

'I don't need your help. I can take care of myself.' Kuroko threw the sandwich back to Aomine who caught it.

'Like you did when the demons were feeding off of you?' Aomine said, making Kuroko look down.

'Just eat. I know you're hungry.'

'No, thank you.' Kuroko immediately shot him down, annoying the demon.

'Quit being so stubborn! Just eat it!'

'A no is a no.' Kuroko insisted. The two exchanged glares before Aomine put the item back in the bag. This way Kuroko wouldn't trust him at all. First he would need to figure out a way to earn his trust. However, with the way the human is, it looks like it'll be a difficult task.

xXx

A few days passed but the demon and human didn't make any progress. Kuroko kept on being stubborn and refused to eat anything Aomine gave him. He had to admit that Aomine could take care of himself.

The demon had brought food that looked like it was freshly brought from the store. It puzzled Kuroko because the demon was homeless just like him. Hopefully he didn't steal the food. If that was the case, Kuroko was seriously considering running away.

However, he decided to stay and see how things play out. When Kuroko got better and recovered, he ventured to the garbage cans he knew contain food and searched for anything to eat. While he did, the demon had no troubles following him around.

No matter where Kuroko went, Aomine wouldn't be too far away. The demon knew that there was a possibility of Kuroko running away and he didn't want to risk that. He could track him with his scent but still, other demons could attack the human so it would be safer to follow him around.

Kuroko was annoyed by the demon but didn't say anything. He hoped that Aomine would get bored one day and leave him alone.

During night, when Kuroko went to sleep, Aomine would come to his usual spot and sleep on the cold floor, not far from Kuroko's shelter.

The bluenette did feel a bit guilty but its not like he told the demon to sleep on the cold, dirty street floor. Kuroko turned over in his box but was startled when he heard thunder. "So it will rain?" Kuroko thought as the first drops of rain began to fall.

Luckily his box shielded him but he couldn't say the same for the demon. Kuroko turned around to look at Aomine's emotionless figure on the floor as the rain fell on him.

Kuroko watched in guilt. "W-What if he did save me?" Kuroko thought… It's true that he was feeling a lot better than when he was with the small creatures. His strength was slowly returning and what's more, he couldn't ignore Aomine's acts of kindness.

Every day the demon would bring him some food for them to share. What's more, he would even bring blankets and other useful objects he would find. However, Kuroko would reject him every time. How could he believe someone who had killed his friends?

But now… Kuroko didn't know what to do. The human covered himself with the blanket, looking at the demon. How could he trust him just like that? After all he went through… How could Kuroko trust anyone but himself?

xXx

The next day when Kuroko woke up, the demon was gone! Did he decide to leave? He wondered as he stood up and stretched. The streets were cold and humid, the aftermath of the storm they had tonight.

However, just like any day Kuroko had to go out and get food to eat. It's a necessity if he needs to survive.

The human took a jumper (that Aomine gave him) and left to search for food. He walked but suddenly heard someone screaming. Quickly, Kuroko ran towards the direction the screams were coming from but was surprised by what he saw.

When he turned around the corner he had seen the demon, Aomine, and a group of high school students. Was the demon attacking them?

'What ar-' Kuroko was about to intervene but stopped when he saw a wounded puppy in the center of the conflict.

'What do you want!? We were just having some fun~' one of the high school students said, making the others giggle in amusement. Meanwhile, Aomine stood his ground and walked up to the puppy before picking it up.

'Did it kick the bucket?' the student, seemingly the leader asked with a grin. The others laughed once again, watching Aomine.

The demon put his hand on the puppy, checking for a pulse that wasn't there.

'So it did? Aww~ What a shame~ And here we wanted to play some more~ Haha!' The students laughed their heads off while Aomine let go of the puppy and put it back on the ground. He stood up to face the humans, his head lowered downwards so that his face couldn't be seen.

'What? Wanna fight?' The leader asked with a grin but soon his eyes widened when he noticed blue glow surrounding Aomine's body.

'Scram! Disgusting humans like you aren't even worth devouring.' Aomine said with pure venom in his voice, making all of the high school boys shiver in fear.

No more words were needed. All of them could feel Aomine's pure anger and that alone was enough to make them all run away.

When the humans cowardly scattered, Kuroko stayed hidden at the corner, peeking at the demon from afar. He wasn't going to lie… the sheer fear he felt from Aomine's voice was enough to even keep him away.

Kuroko watched as the glow on the demon's body suddenly disappeared and Aomine leaned on the wall. The demon took deep breaths before he calmed down. He walked up to the corpse of the black and white puppy and picked him up.

Aomine looked down at the dog, reaching out his hand and placing it on the puppy's chest. Kuroko watched as his hand began to glow with the same blue color, enveloping the body of the dog.

The glow lasted for a couple of seconds before it disappeared again. Kuroko was startled when he saw Aomine slump down on the ground, sitting down in exhaustion.

Kuroko tightened his wrists. Not being able to watch anymore, he stepped out and walked towards the demon and the puppy.

'Are you okay?' The bluenette kneeled down beside Aomine who was panting. Why was he so tired? Kuroko didn't know what to do. Should he take him somewhere? But he can't, he's a demon and he doubted the human doctors would help him.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, Kuroko noticed movement. The previously lifeless body of the puppy began moving again. How?

Kuroko watched as the puppy slowly but wobbly stood up. The dog barked a couple of times and began jumping in place as if nothing happened at all. Kuroko could do nothing else but stare in surprise.

Did the demon do this? How? Kuroko asked himself as Aomine smiled.

'Man… I'm beat. Can we rest for a bit?' Aomine's smile widened but Kuroko still couldn't believe his eyes. What he had before him was a tired demon and a dog that was dead not long ago, alive again!

'What did you do?'

Aomine glanced at Kuroko as the bluenette put Aomine's hand on his small shoulder, trying to support the demon to stand up.

'Nothing much. I just turned him into a demon.'

Kuroko stood up with Aomine supporting himself off his shoulder. 'Is that possible?' Kuroko's usually emotionless face now looked confused and worried.

'Yeah.' Aomine weakly replied as the two walked towards Kuroko's hideout. The puppy followed them in excitement, jumping on their legs and running around them.

Once they arrived, Kuroko didn't have any second thoughts to place Aomine inside the shelter of his box. The demon winced in pain as he crawled inside the small space.

'A nice place you got here.'

'Thank you.' Kuroko placed Aomine down, the dog sitting outside, wiggling his tail.

Kuroko watched the dog before turning back to Aomine. But he was surprised when he noticed that he was sleeping. Maybe he had used too much of his power to bring the dog back to life? Was Kuroko's initial though and explanation on why Aomine was feeling so down.

He sighed. There's no helping it now. Just for now he'll let Aomine sleep in the box. He got out of the box and sat outside right next to it. They couldn't sleep together because the box was too small for that.

Kuroko tiredly sighed as the small puppy walked up to him, jumping up to try to lick his cheek, which it accomplished. The small act made Kuroko smile. Although he was surprised when the dog walked by him and lay down next to Aomine.

Kuroko smiled as he watched the two fall asleep. Maybe… maybe he could trust Aomine. The demon did take care of him and helped him in search of food and other things that would keep him warm. Not to mention that he saved the puppy's life.

xXx

Kuroko's heavy and tired eyes slowly opened as the cold air invaded his body from all sides. It was then that he remembered that he wasn't in the shelter of his box but outside of it. That's right, he had let the tanned demon sleep in his box instead.

Kuroko slowly sat up; his monstrous bed hair standing proudly on his head. He spared no time to look into the box and surprisingly the demon wasn't there. Did he leave in search of food?

Kuroko didn't know where Aomine left off to but he knew one thing; and that is that he's freezing in this cold weather. The poor bluenette, quickly crawled into his box and grabbed the blankets that were inside.

He wrapped all of the blankets he could find around his body, feeling their warmth warm him up slowly.

Since he had no idea where Aomine was, Kuroko decided it was no use looking and decided to wait for him in the box. Yesterday's events were too much of a shock, plus the coldness really did a number on him. Kuroko used this time to recover and gather up the energy for the day.

After a few minutes, Kuroko was close to dozing off again but before he could, he heard footsteps approaching. The sound made Kuroko alert, sitting up and getting into a good position should the person attack him.

He watched the road in front of him in caution. His eyes were glued on the corner wall and finally when the person walked out for Kuroko to see, he sighed a sigh of relief before sitting back down.

'Sorry I scared you. You looked like you were about to kill somebody.' Aomine walked towards the bluenette with a bag in hand, along with the small puppy following him happily around.

Since Aomine had saved the puppy's life, it must have registered the demon as its master. Its not like Kuroko minds but he's still curious as to what the demon did exactly.

Aomine sat down at his usual place before opening the bag and taking out its contents. Again, newly wrapped sandwiches that looked fresh.

Kuroko suspiciously watched as the tanned demon was eating, but it did surprise him when he noticed the demon feeding the puppy as well. Maybe Aomine really isn't such a bad person? Maybe Kuroko should give him a second chance? Kuroko thought but then suddenly a growl from his stomach interrupted his thoughts, making him blush by how loud it is.

Aomine smiled before throwing one sandwich Kuroko's way. The sandwich flew in the air, with the small puppy happily running after it before Kuroko caught it.

'Have one.' Aomine didn't say anything more, biting into his own food. Kuroko looked at Aomine and then at his gift. His stomach grumbled once again and with little willpower left, Kuroko surrendered and took his first bite.

He was amazed by how good the sandwich was. It didn't only look fresh but it also tasted fresh. But then it puzzled him again because you cannot find fresh food in the dumpsters.

'Where did you find these?'

Aomine took one huge bite out of his food before answering, 'I know someone who works at the bakery here. She gave them to me for free.'

'For free?' How can he be sure Aomine didn't steal them?

'Yeah. She's a demon just like me but works at a bakery along with the humans. She's a really good cook.'

Kuroko's eyebrow rose. A demon was working alongside with the humans? He never heard of that.

After finally getting used to the slight changes in Kuroko's emotionless expressions, Aomine noticed that the human was confused again. 'There are demons that work alongside humans but in disguise. We have our own ways to avoid detection.'

'But don't demons-'

'Feast on human souls? Yeah they do, but in this case those guys probably go out to search for the people who are close to death or have been involved in an accident. Some demons prefer not to kill while the others do.' There are many kinds of demons, just as there are many unique humans.

Kuroko found it hard to digest the information, mainly because all of the demons he had ever seen in his life were in a laboratory. Not counting the small creatures and Aomine of course.

But the information did relieve him. The fact alone that some demons were willing to live side by side with the humans peacefully was comforting. With this in mind, he should really apologize to Aomine. The demon only wished him well.

'I'm sorry for running away.' Kuroko muttered, surprising the demon that stopped eating to look at the human.

'Seriously?'

'Yes. Why are you so surprised?' It was as if Kuroko said something out of this world.

'Well, I just thought it would take you longer to warm up to me.' The demon smiled as Kuroko stared.

'You're making me sound like a bad person.'

'Haha sorry, sorry.'

The silence resumed and the only sound that could be heard was that of the little puppy running around, playing.

'How about we call him Nigou? Tetsuya Nigou! Since he looks a lot like you.' After watching the puppy play, Aomine decided on a name. They can't just call him "puppy" or "dog".

Kuroko didn't know what to think of the name but when he looked over at the dog, he noticed that his eyes were really similar to his. Too similar!

'I don't particularly mind.' He said as the puppy jumped up on Aomine to lick his face, making Kuroko smile.

xXx

After that, Kuroko and Aomine's relationship grew and they became really close. They had lived out in the streets together for quite some time. Kuroko even let Aomine sleep together with him, to share the warmth just because the nights were so cold. Also, Nigou who happily followed Aomine everywhere he went.

The demon even brought Kuroko to the bakery shop to show him the demon that had secretly been giving them food. Kuroko learned a lot but at the same time it was amusing and fun to be together with Aomine. The demon was easy going but also a very easy to approach person. There was no doubt he and Kuroko would become friends.

However, one day it had all ended when a single man came… The man that is the source of all of Kuroko's misfortunes and the man he had ran away from…

'Tetsu! Oi Tetsu! Say something!' Aomine screamed as loud as he could but despite his efforts, Kuroko could barely hear him… He could hear the faint sounds of guns firing at the tanned demon but he couldn't do anything… only stay down on the ground, unable to move.

Then he felt hands pick him up from the ground, holding him tightly close to their chest. Kuroko couldn't see the person clearly because his eyes were hazed, but he could make up the image of a person with white hair.

'Give Tetsu back you bastard! Tetsu!' Aomine's loud voice made it to Kuroko's ears but again; there was nothing he could do to help him. His body didn't want to move, being on the border of conscious and unconsciousness.

'Damn you… Shirogane!' was the last thing Kuroko heard before darkness took over.

xXx

There were silhouettes of two people jumping from one rooftop to the other, under the full moon that shone above the city. One of the two seemed to be carrying a third person on his shoulder while jumping.

When they finally arrived at their destination, they stopped. Gold stepped forward so that he could see the entrance of the market clearly. It will be troublesome if they bring their hostage inside. It will definitely cause uproar.

Gold turned around, giving Silver a sign to take the human off his shoulder. After doing that, Gold approached the bluenette, chanting a spell around the human.

'Will this do the trick?' Silver asked as he put the human back on his shoulder.

'Are you doubting my abilities?'

'Of course not.' Silver immediately answered, making Gold smirk. 'Let's go.'

The two demons jumped from the roof, down onto the ground and before the entrance, alerting the guards that stood in front of the door. However, they relaxed when they saw who the two were.

'Keep up the good job.' Gold patted one of the guards on his shoulder, passing through without any troubles. In this place, Gold and Silver and a kind of VIP personnel. The merchandise, or rather human souls, they bring into the market are the best of the best and would sell at the auctions immediately.

Because of their known reputation, back in the demon world and hunting skills, the two have become very known in their field of work.

Silver and Gold walked down the stairs as the others around them greeted them. Then finally when they arrived to the market itself, they were surrounded by demons and humans alike.

'Ohh~ Gold-sama~ Do you have any new souls?'

'You look stunning Gold-sama~'

'Who is that human? Will you auction him?'

The demons who are the buyers and target customers for this market asked the two hunters who are the best of the best in selling delicious souls.

'I'm sorry but he's not for sale.' Gold's reply made everyone pout.

'Does that mean Gold-sama intends to keep this one for himself?'

'Precisely. Now if you'll excuse us.' Gold and Silver bowed before resuming their journey deeper into the auction hall. It was wise to place a seal on the human to mask his scent; otherwise they wouldn't have gotten inside as easily as they did. The two reached another set of stairs, walking down until they saw the stage.

However, unlike the guests, the two went onto the stage and behind the curtains were countless precious items were hidden away. One of their most priced possessions, the blue sword, was shining in the dark storage room.

Gold proudly glanced at the sword, reminding him that they had captured one of the most powerful demons of the demon world with no troubles. Nothing can stand in their way. If they want something, they take it.

However, the two didn't come for the sword but instead approached a metal table that was in the room. Silver placed Kuroko on the metallic table, chaining him to the said object.

Gold inhaled the faint sweet smell Kuroko was emitting, licking his lips in anticipation. He inspected the bluenette, looking under his shirt. Then he realized it... this human has... the king's seal on him. Gold smirked, delighted by the information he found.

'He is...'

'Yes. He's the king's contractor.' Gold smirked while pulling up Kuroko's shirt.

'Will you do it?' Silver asked Gold whose hand glowed in the dark room.

'Why waste such an opportunity? We get to feast and get our revenge.' Gold smirked while Silver nodded. The room shone in golden color as the crimson seal appeared on Kuroko's body. Akashi's seal... However, a new seal, a golden one appeared right next to the crimson one.

Gold smirked, more than satisfied. However, suddenly something strange happened... A third seal.

'Don't tell me... this human already had two seals placed on him? Haha!' Gold broke out in laughter, not believing what just occurred.

'This is amusing! A human with three demon seals? That's unheard of!' Never ever had he heard of something like that occurring! This will be the first time in history that three demons have claimed the same human.

The shining light of crimson, golden and that of the third seal disappeared as Gold touched Kuroko's chest. 'But of course our seal will be the one that will surpass the other two.'

Silver was amazed by the information as well, grinning while watching the bluenette. 'We know that the crimson seal belongs to the king but… whose is the third seal?'

Gold moved his hand to stroke Kuroko's cheek, 'My, my Silver did you forget? It belongs to a dear friend of ours~'

'Friend? Who- Ohhh! Now I know! Bastard, why didn't he tell us about this human?'

'Who would want to share their meal? Are you an idiot?' Gold moved his hand to brush Kuroko's bangs.

'It doesn't matter. All I care about is the crimson seal~'

'You really despise the king don't you? Out of all of us, you always held special hatred towards him.' Silver noted. Even within the Jabberwock, nobody's hate came as close as Gold's.

Gold smirked, still amused by his findings. 'Isn't it natural to hate someone of the same kin as you? After all, I and the king are very similar.'

Gold moved his hand away from the human and walked over to the curtain, 'After all, we have the same eye~' Gold turned around to face Silver who could see Gold's eyes shining in the dark.

The eye to predict the future; Emperor Eye. The precious eye of the Akashi family, the king's bloodline, yet Gold has it in his possession.

'The feeling must be mutual. I doubt the king would forgive you so easily for what you've done.'

'And that's exactly what I want. Let him come to me to get this precious eye back.' Gold shivered in excitement. He had stolen one of the biggest treasures of the king's bloodline and now the cherry on the cake is to steal his human and kill the king himself.

Ohh~ He cannot wait to face the king again when he comes to pick up his contractor. Little does he know that it will be the end of him when he does.

'Let's go.'

'How about him?'

'Leave him there. We have to prepare for his majesty's arrival.' Gold moved the red curtain with his hand, disappearing behind it. However, Silver hesitated but in the end followed after Gold, leaving Kuroko alone.

The human lay emotionlessly on the metallic table as no sounds could be heard, only faint sounds of the slave market that was up above him.

In the corner of the room there was a sword that was on display in a glass container. The sword shone in the darkness, somewhat lightening up the dark room in dark blue color.

'Tetsu…'

'Tetsu…'

Kuroko was enveloped by darkness but he could hear a faint voice calling out to him.

'Tetsu…'

The voice called out to him yet again, as the blue seal on his wrist slowly began to shine in dark blue color. The blue light that was emitting from the sword was stronger and stronger, lighting up the whole storage room.

'Tetsu…'

Kuroko heard the voice and followed it. He had to find a way out of the darkness and the only lead he had was the blue light. He followed the blue light and ran towards it.

Kuroko's body slowly began to sit up, his eyes hazed as the blue seal on his wrist glowed. He looked over at the sword, as if it's calling out to him to take it.

The chains tying Kuroko down to the bed were broken as well as the glass that was holding the blue sword.

'Tetsu…'

Kuroko stood up from the bed, his body walking by itself towards the blue sword. Then, answering its calls, he picked it up with his hands. As soon as he did, blue flames suddenly surrounded him, lighting up the whole storage room and the stage on fire.

xXx

'Hurry up!' Kagami jumped from one roof to the next, running as fast as he could towards the market.

However, he didn't even see it when a gust of wind blew past him. Only when he saw the demon king in front of him had he realized that he had passed him.

Kagami tried to catch up but the demon was too fast for him. Akashi jumped and jumped, until he suddenly stopped.

Kagami who jumped behind him bumped into him from the sudden stop. 'Oi! What's the big deal?' Kagami annoyed asked but no answer was needed when he saw what was in front of them.

'What's up with this blue fire!?' Kagami was amazed just how strong and huge the flames were. The whole building was on fire! What's more, there were people and demons running away for their lives, screaming and yelling at each other to move aside.

Akashi watched but couldn't believe his eyes, 'Those are Daiki's flames.'

Author's notes

I'm soooo sorry for the late update guys! I forced myself to update and finished the end of this chapter in like an hour so please, go easy on me. I know this chapter is shorter but I couldn't help it. I really wanted to update. Plus the writing is BLAH! I'm out of shape :( Sorry! *bows* Also, it doesn't help that I've been feeling sick lately...

The reason I didn't update is mostly because of school. And I just want to tell you guys this, DON'T WORRY! I'M NOT ABANDONING THIS STORY! NO WAY! XD No matter how long it takes me to update, I won't abandon this story. I really like it and you guys seem to enjoy it as well (I hope).

So this marks the end of AoKuro flashbacks XD You don't need to worry about those anymore. I'm sorry if there were too much of them but they were needed for the story. As for more about Nigou's transformation, it will be explained in the next chapter in more detail. Also, since we found out recently that Gold also has the Emperor Eye in EG, I decided to incorporate it into the story XD Although more about the eye will be revealed later~

Thank you for your patience! I will try to update as fast as I can but school is really a torture... I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review. It will make me feel better XD

Next chapter preview

'Kuroko! Snap out of it!' Kagami clashed swords with Kuroko who was surrounded by blue flames, using them as his weapon against Kagami who dodged just in time before they hit him. The whole market was on fire and the source of it was Kuroko... No, more precisely the sword in his hands.

Akashi clenched his fists, his way blocked by Gold.

'Move out of the way.'

'Haha! Too bad~ Instead of saving your contractor you'll play with me~' Gold smirked as Akashi looked over at Kuroko and Kagami who fought.

'Snap out of it already!' Kagami pleaded but then suddenly Kuroko moved his sword and made Kagami fall down on the ground. When Kagami opened his eyes again, Kuroko was aiming the blue sword towards him. Kagami closed his eyes when Kuroko aimed the sword at him.

Next chapter: A New Contract