Chapter 3 : Red on white
Kagami didn't mind being on his own. Sure, he was of a social temperament, but with his hot character, he often needed time on his own. However, he usually spent this me-time chilling in his chambers in luxury, huge amount of food served every few hours. Here he was on his own, his soldiers and servants had left him about three hours ago, he only had a tent and two wooden carts filled with foods and necessities. The white sea. When he was but a child, it was a beautiful clear sea on the South of Teiko, famous for its tasty fishes and warm water, however it had frozen a century ago, the people from the country said it was because of a monster taking residence here, but the global belief was that a witch coven at war with the water elemental ruling the country had cursed it. Hundreds of magical beings had tried reverting it back to what it had been, fire dragons had come by dozen to spit fire on the white landscape, but nothing worked, every time they succeeded in melting a piece, in a blink of an eye, it was back to solid ice.
His brother knew what he was doing when he sent him there, and even though he was quite upset, the young dragon knew it had been the right thing to do. He loved his power, he knew what he was and he felt room for growth, he wanted to get stronger, because as it was now, all of his brothers were more powerful. The reason was simple, they had control over their magic, Kagami didn't.
Three weeks later and he was way past his last meal, his tent had been burned when in anger he had released too much power, now he slept on the ice. Not that he was cold, because he had never been no matter what he tried, his body run high on temperature, but the sensation of melting ice under him as he tried to sleep and the regular blizzard were playing on his nerves. As for his magic control, nothing. He had tried meditating, going through basic spells and even fighting his beast into submission but nothing worked. Nothing. As he tried to sleep on the fourth night, he had enough, he was going to make this white pile of shit melt and go back to Teiko to inform his brother that it hadn't worked.
Releasing his fire, he laughed as the ice around him melted at an alarming rate, less than two minutes later, miles around him only liquid water could be seen. Of course he hadn't been prepared to fall in the water, but what the heck, he could swim. However, he started to panic when he realised that he was falling deeper and deeper and that he could barely muster up the energy to swim back up. Fuck his needy organism, he needed food. The panic turned into real fear, when he saw the water turn back into ice a few meters above him, and he couldn't do anything about it. Shit, no way was he dying like that. He couldnt. If only his body wasn't so tired. As his eyes started closing, he thought about his brothers' reactions... Shit.
oOoOo
His body was cold which could only mean one thing : he was dead. It was weird to feel cold, but it was so nice he couldn't understand why people hated it. He wanted this soothing freshness around him forever. Kagami just laid there enjoying this amazing new feeling, then his stomach grumbled. Heaven had started great, he couldn't wait to find out about the food. Slowly he openned his eyes, meeting a weird light blue-ish ceiling. It looked like it was made out of ice and the sun was shining through. Hmm, disappointingly unoriginal.
Trying to get up, he noticed the soreness. Was he supposed to be uncomfortable in anyway in the afterlife ? Only then did he notice that one side of his body was cooler than theother. Slowly, he turned his head to his right and was met with a mop of turquoise hair. Kagami's eyes widened. How could he not feel his presence when he was so close ? The small form shifted and the dragon blushed. He had never shared his bed with anyone before. Maybe it was his first gift from the afterlife. Not that he had been really interested in carnal matter while alive, but he guessed he had all the time now to get to know this side of himself.
"You're awake ?" the softest voice he had ever heard mumbled and the body shifted again but in a sitting position this time revealing a young man with porcelain white skin, soft feminine features and ice blue tired eyes.
Kagami gulped and nodded, unsure of what to do next. The bluenette was very attractive. Should he just rip his clothes off now or maybe there was some kind of ceremonial he had to perform when first waking up here ?
"Great, let's see how you're doing," the angel said reaching and placing his freezing pale hand on the bare tanned skin of his torso right above his heart. He felt a curl of foreign magic reaching to his, the two meeting in a perfect harmony he had never experienced before. "You seem okay."
"I feel great !" Kagami exclaimed sudenly sitting up to face the bluenette. They were so close that he could feel the other's breath on his skin and make out the silver dots spreading around his irises. He could also follow the spread of pink blush across the angel's face. It was very lovely and Kagami couldn't help but reach out to put a hand on the cold skin. He would never get enough of this feeling, the coldness cooling his own skin through the point of contact.
"You've been asleep for a week now. You won't be okay until you eat something," the soft voice said in a breathless voice.
That voice did unspeakable things to the red king who helplessy stared at those tempting pink lips.
"Huh ?" he got out uselessly, enthralled by the movement of the celestial being's throat as he swallowed.
It took a moment for the words to catch up, but when they did his reaction was immediate. He jumped out of bed, ended up on his butt on the hard ground, his face flaming hot, eyes comically wide and mouth hanging open.
"Shit !" He shouted as flames erupted from his hands, a result of his emotions going array. "Stop ! you'll get hurt !" He exclaimed as the bluenette knelt down next to him and reached for his afire hands.
"It's okay." And it really was.
As soon as the other's hand touched his, the flame went out leaving a cool feeling behind.
"What... ?"
"I'm an ice elemental."
Kagami frowned as he only knew of a few rare water elementals who could, if they had great powers and enough experience, turn it into ice. Ice elementals were unheard of.
"What happened ?"
"You were stuck under the ice, you would have drowned if I hadn't come fishing there." The stranger said getting up to rummage through an ice closet , taking the amazing coolness with him.
"Thank you for saving me, I'll repay you," the king said seriously.
"No, it was my fault after all."
"What ?" he repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.
"It's my fault that the sea freezes over..." was murmured back.
"Impossible."
"I know your fire is not normal. Usually I can't feel any warmth at all, but with you..." The bluenette cut himself off looking longingly at Kagami's hands making him blush. "Has anyone ever been able to turn it off ?"
"No..." Kagami answered frowning. "Only you. How is it possible ?"
"I don't know. I was told that it was a curse," he said handing a worn out cape to the king who lazily threw it on, lost in thoughts.
"I've never heard of a curse that powerful," he said.
"That's what I've been told."
"What is your name ?" The red haired king asked, eager to know.
"Tetsuya Kuroko. What is yours ?" The soft voice sounded curious.
"Taïga Kagami," the king answered bracing himself for the exclamations of surprise.
When none came, he frowned at the bluenet. Did he not know him ? How was it possible ?
"What's your story ?" He asked then, trying to understand.
"I told you I'm cursed."
"I want the whole story," Kagami shook his head and followed the bluenet out and into another room made of ice. It looked like a kitchen with a table, two chairs and a counter.
"I was born in the small country of Tokyo in the south of Teiko. I'm sure you came here from there," Kagami acquiesced. "My mother used to tell me that the day I was born, an awful wind swept the village and rain fell like never before. I was six years old when my power manifested itself." Kagami felt dread set in his guts as he knew elemental aged like regular humans up to their twenties. "Everything I touched turned to ice, even the ground I stepped on. My parents had to make me sleep outside as I was freezing the house. It scared people. I couldn't control it and accidents happened, like if I touched an animal, or someone I gave them froze bites and they had to be taken to a healer. However one day they couldn't take it anymore. They couldn't grow anything with me around, I destroyed everything. So they tried to kill me."
Kagami hissed as he heard the last words. His ears growled inside and he felt a burning anger spread in his veins. The walls and furtinures were melting at a rapid pace but he couldn't do anything about it.
"It didn't work as my curse protected me from their weapons and their water magic was useless against me. So they banned me here, forcing me to leave for the sea. The rest is history."
Kuroko frowned as he saw the flames engulfing Kagami.
"Are you alright ?" He asked as he stepped closer.
"Don't come near. I can't control it right now," the king answered through gritted teeth. "I'm not kidding !" He shouted as Kuroko came nearer, his face as impassible as it had been the whole time. "Stop, please !" Kagami shouted walking backwards. His whole being repulsed at the idea of scarring this perfect porcelain skin.
However Kuroko paid him no mind and stared at the flames like a moth drawn to it. Kagami froze in place as the petite man reached out.
Because he felt it.
A weird, entirely new sensation. Pure harmony of their magic entwined together in perfect symbiosis.
It felt amazing. And for a second he thought back on his belief that this was heaven.
Around the small hand that was cutting into the flames, the fire lost its heat, it wasn't cold, but it wasn't hot anymore.
Then Kuroko's palm reached his chest and it was like he was in a transe. His heart was beating wildly but he had never felt more calm before, so... at peace.
His beast was not making any move, it was, for the first time ever, calmed.
"How ?" He whispered in a raw voice.
His own far bigger hand slowly covered Kuroko's who looked up at him and, though his face remained impassible, his eyes were full of emotions Kagami couldn't read.