Kuroko and Akashi were incapable of keeping their love hidden, even if they were step brothers. There was a three year difference between them. Kuroko was going to turn 20 and Akashi was going to turn 17. Both of them felt a strong pull towards each other and they did their best to keep their relationship a secret from their parents. But it got harder throughout the years. And although they got along most of the time, occasionally arguments occurred.

"What do you mean you want to break up?!" The redhead yelled in the empty house while staring at his older brother.

"Seijuro, you don't understand." Kuroko said with a soft voice, not wanting to see his brother upset.

"Are you trying to tell me our relationship is wrong and that you made a mistake?! So it was wrong when you kissed me? It was wrong when you touched me? Were you lying when you told me you loved me?" Akashi asked, feeling frustrated. He felt tears burn at the back of his eyes. He didn't get why his brother was leaving him.

"No, I was lying! Like I said, I'm doing this for you. I'm pushing you too far for myself; I'm being selfish." Kuroko turned away, "You don't remember anything." He said with a more quiet voice but the redhead still heard him,

"Remember what?"

The blue haired boy shook his head and started to walk away, only to have Akashi yelling after him, "Remember what?! Tell me!"

Kuroko turned around to face the redhead and spoke sternly, "Don't be childish, Seijuro. You were taught to grow as a strong emperor in our family."

The redhead frowned at Kuroko but did his best to relax, "I know. You say that all the time. But I can't do this without you. I need you. Please..don't leave me."

The blue haired boy had a sad expression on his face and he said, "An emperor knows how to fight, which is why he stands tall. With or without me, you need to grow strong, Seijuro." Kuroko then pat his little brother's head lightly and left.

The redhead's heart was crushed, he felt like he would fall apart. He knew that their relationship would be shunned upon, but he didn't get where Kuroko's words were coming from. The blue haired boy held a firm expression as he talked to Akashi which was nothing like the usual soft tone he used.

During the week, Akashi continued to try and get Kuroko to listen to him. Then the redhead noticed that his brother was packing his bags.

"Where are you going…?" Akashi asked shyly while peeking his head through the door. Kuroko zipped up a suitcase and turned to face his younger brother,

"Moving out. Well, my clothes for now."

Akashi stood at Kuroko's doorway, his hands balling up into fists, "Why…?"

"Because I took a year out of university to work and raise money. Since I got enough money, I need to catch up with my studies and build my life." Kuroko explained. Akashi scowled and then walked into his brother's room. The redhead pushed the blue haired boy onto his bed and pinned him down. Kuroko showed no expression on his face and allowed the redhead to burst out in anger,

"Leave! I don't fucking care about you! I hate you."

The blue haired boy stared at his younger brother; his eyes widened when he noticed that Akashi was crying.

"I hate you…I hate you so much." The redhead whimpered hopelessly. His hands clenched Kuroko's shirt and he looked down in shame. Akashi continued, "I'm not strong enough, Tetsuya. Please, stay with me."

The blue haired boy let his fingers brush away the tears from Akashi's face and he let out a small chuckle, "A crying face really doesn't suit you, Seijuro."

"Don't laugh at me!" The redhead yelled, his face growing pink. Kuroko couldn't help but laugh again,

"I'm sorry. Now then, I have to continue packing so you'll have to get off of me."

Akashi put more of his weight down onto his brother and shook his head, "Don't leave. Stay."

"Seijuro…You're being a hormonal teenager." Kuroko pointed out.

"Am not!"

The blue haired boy grinned, "Now you're being a baby."

Akashi didn't move from Kuroko's lap and instead he said, "Let me kiss you once."

The older of the two sighed and tried to push his younger brother off, "Seijuro, you know I can't let you do that."

"Just let me. If you don't fall in love with me again then you can leave. But if you kiss me back, then you have to stay by my side." Akashi explained his little gamble. Kuroko stayed still and let the redhead do whatever.

I guess if this will satisfy him. Seijuro, remember me soon. Kiss me and remember me. Kuroko thought to himself.

Akashi slowly leaned down to kiss his brother, his red hair tickling Kuroko's cheeks. His hands rested on the blue haired boy's chest for support but right before their lips touched, they heard their mother call for them to eat dinner.

Akashi opened his eyes and stared at his older brother who was watching the redhead with a sad gaze. "Mom's calling us for dinner…" The redhead said as he got off of Kuroko.

Kuroko let out his breath which he didn't even realize he was holding and followed his brother to the dinner table.

After dinner, their mother rubbed Kuroko's back and smiled, "Tetsuya, I can't thank you enough for helping the family. I'm sorry that it got in the way of your studies though."

Akashi was clueless as to what was happening so he asked, "What's going on?"

"Seijuro, didn't your brother tell you why he spent a year working?" Their mother asked.

The blue haired boy immediately put a finger to his lips to silence her and he quickly tried to flee the scene. Akashi reacted faster; he grabbed his brother's hand and demanded an explanation, "Why did you work for a whole year…?"

Kuroko pulled his hand away, "You don't need to know."

When the blue haired boy had gone up to his room, their mother decided to tell Akashi,

"Tetsuya found out that our family was having some financial troubles so he took a year off to raise enough money for your tuition when you go to university."

The redhead stood there stunned, he didn't know any of this. Even when they were dating, his brother had never told him what he did. Akashi went to his room and thought hard about what was going through his older brother's mind. Kuroko broke up with him but he still loved him; Akashi was sure of that but he couldn't break his brother's will. Once Kuroko's mind was set on something, he would make it happen and right now, his older brother's mind was set on leaving.

Later that night when Akashi was sure their parents were sleeping, he slowly got up and walked out into the hallway towards Kuroko's room. The redhead pushed the door open and did his best not to make a noise. He saw Kuroko's chest rise and fall to the rhythm of his breathing and Akashi immediately wanted to be a part of that peace.

He crawled onto the bed and snuggled right next to Kuroko. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Akashi heard his brother's voice whisper, "What are you doing here, Seijuro?"

The redhead flinched at the cold tone he'd never heard his brother use before. Nonetheless, Akashi wasn't going to back down. He found himself once again straddling Kuroko's hips as if to keep him from escaping.

"You owe me a kiss." The redhead said in his defense.

The blue haired boy remained expressionless, "Then kiss me and leave."

Akashi hesitated, he wondered what he would do if Kuroko didn't kiss him back. The blue haired boy said something else before Akashi made a move,

"Seijuro, did you know that you tend to be more forgetful than I? I always seem to remember things first. It kills me to know that you don't remember."

"Remember what?" Akashi whispered into the darkness of Kuroko's room. The blue haired boy turned away so he wouldn't have to face his younger brother. The redhead said,

"I love you. Nothing can stop me from loving you. This isn't me being a emotional teenager. I love you with all my heart and soul. I love you to the point I would die for you. I love you so much that it makes me insane. That's why I don't want you to tell me you don't want me or you don't love me because no matter what I won't be able to stop loving you." Akashi leaned down, his tears falling onto Kuroko's cheeks. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to his brother's, hoping for a reaction.

When he got no response, Akashi pulled away slowly and mumbled, "Well…that's that, I guess."

He pushed himself off of Kuroko and was going to leave but the blue haired boy grabbed Akashi's wrist and pulled him back onto the bed.

"Wha—" Akashi exclaimed, but before he could finish, hot lips were pressed onto his, eager for more warmth. Kuroko kissed the redhead hard and pulled him closer. Akashi tried his best to keep up with the frantic pace and tugged at Kuroko's shirt to hold him closer. Wherever they touched, both of them felt an intense heat blossom from the contact. The blue haired boy pulled away to face his panting brother. Both of them didn't say anything. Just tracing outlines on each other's skin was enough. Kuroko wrapped his arm around Akashi and let the redhead snuggle into his chest.

"Does this mean that you love me again?" Akashi whispered, feeling slightly confused as to what had just happened.

"Well…you know, I never said that I stopped loving you." Kuroko whispered back while burying his face into the redhead hair in front of him.

"You're such an ass." The redhead mumbled while holding tightly onto his brother. For the first time in days, Akashi fell asleep comfortably.

The next morning, Akashi felt the bed shift in weight and he slowly peeked a glance through his heavy eyelids. He saw Kuroko grabbing a clean shirt and pulling it over his body. That's when he saw three parallel lines on the blue haired boy's back which resembled the three parallel lines on his own back. Akashi winced and said,

"Those marks on your back…Where did you get them?"

Kuroko turned around, "Had them since I was born. You've had your marks since you were born too."

The redhead closed his eyes tightly, as if he was trying to remember something. "What do they mean?" Akashi asked.

Kuroko sat down beside the redhead and put a hand on his younger brother's forehead to comfort him from the headache that was growing fast.

"Mother thinks that we were lovers in our past lives and that the marks are the symbol of our love. Father thinks that's a load of shit."

Akashi curled up on the bed and tried to steady his breathing. "Lovers… past life? You mean reincarnation?" He mumbled.

The redhead tried to stand up but his vision was blacked out and he then fainted. Kuroko caught his younger brother and put him back on the bed. He lightly brushed the red hair away from Akashi's face and whispered,

"I thought you'd never remember… Thank you, Seijuro for remembering me." Then he went to get the redhead a glass of water.

When Akashi woke up, he groaned at the pain in his head. He turned onto his side and saw Kuroko silently reading.

"Tetsuya…?" The redhead whispered while reaching out for the blue haired boy. Kuroko moved closer and held Akashi's hand,

"Parents are at work. They said you could skip school today and I'm skipping work to take care of you."

"I see." The redhead whispered while looking around the room. Kuroko was terrified to ask the question on his mind but he did it anyways,

"Do…do you remember anything?"

Akashi smiled, "Everything."

The redhead got up and wrapped his arms around Kuroko, then pulled him down onto the bed.

"Tetsuya…" He started, "You always seem to be babying me."

The blue haired boy was quick to defend himself, "You try getting your memories back when you were three. I tried everything to get you to remember! In the end, I thought that if I leave, something might be triggered."

Afterwards, the two of them went to get their fourth tattoo. They constantly reminded themselves that they were step brothers in this life so they couldn't do everything they wanted. Once they got home, Kuroko convinced his parents to let Akashi move in with him. They were skeptical about the idea, but eventually they gave in and let Akashi pack his bags.

A few years passed and Kuroko was nearing his final year of university, while Akashi was 3 years behind him as always.

The redhead was waiting at the bus stop to go home when a suspicious looking man approached him slowly. Akashi quickly sent a text to Kuroko of his location and then checked his watch for the time. There was a woman carrying a baby beside him, waiting for the bus as well. The man approached them a bit faster now and he raised his right hand to reveal a gun. Akashi panicked and felt like running, but his legs wouldn't move. The man pointed his gun at the woman with the baby and yelled,

"You bitch! How could you marry another man?!"

Akashi finally found the courage to move and he shielded the woman when a bullet was fired. Pain spread into his back and it quickly traveled down his spine. The redhead fell to the ground and watched the woman run away with her baby. The man ran past Akashi's bleeding body and chased after the woman. Thankfully, the woman was now in a convenience store and the man became too afraid to make a move.

It was only minutes later that the police, ambulance, news reporters and Kuroko arrived. The police had to pull the blue haired boy off of Akashi's body as he desperately cried for his lover to come back. It was the first time Akashi had died before Kuroko and the blue haired boy was quick to develop depression. His body wouldn't function correctly without Akashi, nor did he want it to.

Kuroko wanted to die so badly, but he knew that doing so would only break the connection.

Two years later, the blue haired boy passed away.