"This is just business." Akashi mumbled to himself while looking in the mirror. He was disgusted by his own reflection, "This…is just my father's business. Not mine."

The redhead was 19 years old and his father forced him into helping out at a brothel house he managed. Akashi's father put a hand on his shoulder and said, "This is where I work, son. Warm up to it soon because you'll become the manager afterwards."

Of course, the redhead didn't like the idea. Not one bit.

So far, all the redhead had to do was check the new working women and men who were coming into the brothel. It was a good thing for Akashi that not a lot of prostitutes came in; they usually had regular prostitutes who would service the clients. One day, when Akashi walked through the doors, he heard someone screaming.

The redhead stormed through the halls towards his father's office. When he got there, his father looked up, smiled and said, "We got a new one. He's really feisty right now though. He was screaming and biting at us and already tried to escape four times. I think he'll make us a lot of money. The boy is in your room, waiting to be checked. Well…He's probably knocked out."

Akashi rushed out and walked into his small office to see the boy passed out on his bed. The redhead sighed and slowly walked towards him. The boy had light blue hair which fell across his face. His skin was pale, but it still had an ivory hue to it. His lips were a light pink and his face overall looked like an angel. Akashi picked up a clipboard and waited for the boy to wake up. My dad's right...this boy will make him a lot of money. I wish I could help him.

When the blue haired boy's eyes fluttered open, he slowly looked around the room. When his blue eyes met the crimson ones of Akashi, the boy instantly tried to run. The redhead grabbed the boy from around the waist and picked him up.

"Let me go!" The boy yelled, while hitting Akashi's back.

The redhead just pushed him back onto the bed and pinned him down. "I'm not a client, I'm here to check you and that's it. I hate my job as much as you're going to hate yours. So don't make this any harder than it's supposed to be." Akashi said.

The blue haired boy calmed down at the sound of Akashi's voice and gave a hesitant but gentle nod. The redhead slowly let go of him and sat down.

"What's your name?" Akashi asked.

The blue haired boy mumbled, "Kuroko Tetsuya…"

The redhead scribbled the name down and continued, "I'm Akashi Seijuro, refer to me however you would like. Age?"

"Seventeen." Kuroko said, his voice monotone.

"I'm nineteen. Sexual history?"

"None. I've never had a sexual or intimate interaction with anyone." The blue haired boy admitted.

"You've never kissed someone?" Akashi asked, getting a bit curious about Kuroko. The blue haired boy shook his head no and then said,

"My father sold me because our family is poor. Who knows, maybe he'll sell my sister in a few months."

Akashi sighed and stood up, "Get off the bed and please remove your clothes."

The blue haired boy blushed slightly and slowly got up, but couldn't seem to take off his clothes. "Sir, I can't. I just feel too uncomfortable doing this."

"I know I said you can refer to me however you'd like but maybe not 'sir'. You don't have to use formalities with me, just with my ass of a father. I'm not going to suddenly attack you, so you can take off your clothes."

Kuroko's face became a shade darker and he stuttered, "Akashi-kun, I- I seriously can't."

The redhead sighed and said, "Turn around and talk to me about yourself."

Kuroko turned his back to Akashi reluctantly and said, "I was born on January the 31st. My favourite colour is red, I like vanilla flavored things and I like playing that hoop and net game."

The redhead listened and then slowly put his hands on the hem of Kuroko's shirt, "Keep talking." He urged.

The blue haired boy tensed up but he continued, "I…have a strange memory of a person but I can't see the person clearly and I don't recall ever seeing someone like him."

"What does he look like?" Akashi asked as he unbuttoned Kuroko's shirt and gently tugged it off.

The blue haired boy flinched slightly at Akashi's touch, "Tall, mismatched eyes; one golden, the other is bright red. Scars on his back; it's a small straight line, there are four."

Akashi touched Kuroko's back and traced the tally marks, "You have four marks here too."

"I know." The blue haired boy said while feeling the redhead's hands take measurements of his torso.

Suddenly, Akashi stopped and sat down. He took a deep breath, "Give me a second. I have a headache." He then took one of his shirts lying around and threw it onto Kuroko to cover him.

The blue haired boy showed concern and worry, "Are you alright? Should I go get someone?"

Akashi shook his head, "I'm fine. This is nothing, I just got a small headache."

Kuroko sat down while clutching onto Akashi's shirt and he waited until the redhead was ready to move on. The silence was awkward but the blue haired boy stayed put.

Finally, the redhead got up and smiled, "I'm sorry about that. We'll just skip the rest of the physical examination because you already seem clean. I'll show you to your room and you can meet the others."

Akashi and Kuroko walked down the halls and got to a room with a red door. The redhead let the blue haired boy walk in first to see four other boys arguing while flailing a deck of cards around.

"Hey, I brought someone new." Akashi said.

All of them turned their heads and smiled at the newcomer. The first one to approach Kuroko was a blonde, he hugged Kuroko and said, "Ah! Guys, look! He's so cute. I'm Kise Ryouta, age eighteen."

Akashi gave Kise a cold look and the blonde immediately took his arms off of Kuroko. The others approached him too and introduced themselves.

"Midorima Shintaro. Nineteen."

"Murasakibara Atsushi. Nineteen."

"Kagami Taiga. Eighteen."

The blue haired boy couldn't help but smile at the welcoming faces. "Kuroko Tetsuya. Seventeen." He whispered shyly.

Kise gaped at the blue haired boy and exclaimed in disbelief, "Seventeen?! The younger, the more brutal the client. Akashicchi! You can't let him get to Kurokocchi!"

Kuroko suddenly felt nervous but Akashi's hand on his shoulder calmed him down.

"It's alright, he's not going to get him. Tetsuya can find who he wants himself." Akashi said softly. The blue haired boy turned to look at the redhead and asked,

"Who I want?"

Kise butt in and explained, "The one who takes care of you most of the time. To put it bluntly, the person who can buy your way out of here. I have Aomine Daiki, he's trying to save up double my cost to buy me and until then, I don't have to service anyone."

Kuroko tilted his head to the side and asked, "So…someone who falls in love with you? They can buy my way out of here?"

Kise nodded with a puppy-like expression on his face. Akashi moved towards the door and said, "I'll leave you guys to get comfortable. I'll bring dinner at six."

When the group was sure that the redhead was out of ear-shot, they all huddled around Kuroko.

Kise squealed, "Kurokocchi, do you like Akashicchi?"

The blue haired boy stared wide eyes and shook his head, "What? No!"

Midorima looked at Kuroko from head to toe and pointed at the blue haired boy's shirt, "That's Akashi's shirt. He always wears a white dress shirt."

"Ah…" Kuroko started. He hadn't even noticed that he was still wearing Akashi's shirt, "He just gave it to me during my physical examination."

Kagami raised an eyebrow, "Oh? I don't believe Akashi was ever kind to us like that. I think that the manager's son has a little crush on you, Kuroko. Or at least, he's taken a liking to you."

The blue haired boy blushed, "He does not. We just met!"

"How do you know you just met?" Kagami asked, "For all you know, you could've been married in another life."

"That's…weird." Kuroko stated. The blue haired boy felt comfortable around the other guys. Though Murasakibara didn't talk much and Kise was a little too loud; they were enjoyable people to be around. At exactly 6 o'clock, not a second sooner or later, the door swung open and Akashi walked in. He didn't seem to be in a good mood and everyone in the group stayed away from him. All except Kuroko who simply wanted to know everything about Akashi.

"Um…Akashi-kun?" The blue haired boy asked.

Akashi turned and smiled gently, "Tetsuya, I need you to come to my room after dinner. We can talk about things there and I also have to go over standard procedures."

When Akashi left, Kise was sitting there baffled as he muttered, "Akashicchi…smiled at 6 o'clock… Impossible."

"What's wrong with six o'clock?" Kuroko asked while eating dinner. Kagami chuckled and explained,

"Akashi tends to get in a fight with his father about everything so he's never in a good mood for dinner. The fact that he smiled is amazing. He would normally just tell us to fuck off."

The blue haired boy let out a small laugh, "He sounds so childish."

Murasakibara spoke up for the first time that day, "Have you seen his eyes?"

"They're red." Kuroko answered, but Murasakibara shook his head in disagreement.

"His real eyes. When he first started working for his father, he let his real eyes show." the purple haired boy said, "He wears a colour contact over one eye now."

Suddenly remembering his small vision, Kuroko asked, "What colour is that eye?"

"One is like a pool of blood and the other is gold like the sun." The purple haired boy explained. The blue haired boy got a small headache and he froze in place.

Hiding his pain, he got up and said that he should go to Akashi's room. Kagami got up and decided to escort him, since Kuroko probably had no clue as to where he was going. While they walked down the halls, Kagami warned the blue haired boy,

"There's…this one guy who comes around and likes to cause...a racket to put it lightly. Kise thinks that he's going to come for you just as he had come for Kise long ago. This guy is…he's not nice, he's the exact definition of hate. So, just take care of yourself."

Kuroko didn't understand fully but he nodded and said farewell to Kagami once they go to Akashi's door. The blue haired boy knocked lightly and waited for a response. Kuroko heard multiple locks being unlocked and then finally the door swung open. The redhead smiled and gestured for Kuroko to sit on the bed.

"Alright, since you're really inexperienced, you're on a week hold, which is where you can't get requested because you're learning. I'm going to teach you how to treat a client, how to talk with them and everything." Akashi explained while taking his sweater off. The blue haired boy thanked Akashi silently for giving him a week to be mentally prepared. The redhead started the first lesson,

"One; introduce yourself. Don't feel offended if the client doesn't tell you his or her name, sometimes they just don't want you to know who they are."

Kuroko nodded, trying to fill his head with this information.

"Second, although you're not always going to be doing sexual favors; condoms. Always, always, always. If a client tries to not use one or refuses or fights you or whatever, you tell me. Got it? Each room is set up the same. Come with me."

Kuroko stood up and followed the redhead. Inside the room, there was one bed, a couch and two drawers by the beds. Akashi pointed at the drawers, "You can find some in any of the drawers. Third; do not ask them to do anything for you. Unless they tell you to do something. Follow their orders and demands, meaning no more of this shyness in taking off your clothes. Some people might enjoy it but trust me, there are horrible people out there who will not wait for you."

The blue haired boy was baffled, "What am I supposed to do then? Practice putting clothes on and off in front of people?"

"Whatever helps." Akashi said with a small smile. Then the redhead pushed Kuroko against the wall and whispered in his ear, "You can practice in front of me."

The blue haired boy's face felt like it was on fire. He did his best to hide his face from Akashi and he muttered, "You should be the one servicing clients."

"Eh?" The redhead said while raising an eyebrow.

"Your amount of seductiveness and your good looks would make you a lot better at this job than I…" Kuroko voiced his thoughts out loud. Akashi let out a laugh that made Kuroko's heart leap,

"This job wouldn't be good for me. You see, Tetsuya, I'm not exactly a submissive person. People come to me to beg."

Kuroko felt a shiver run down his spine. The redhead continued,

"Now then, since you brought it up. Practice."

Kuroko stuttered, his face still a bright pink, "I-uh…I…what, um, what do I do?"

Akashi sat down on the bed and gestured for Kuroko to come closer. The blue haired boy took small wary steps towards the redhead. Suddenly, a hand snatched out and grabbed Kuroko by the arm. The blue haired boy yelped and was thrown onto his back on the bed. Akashi was on top of him, leaning in close.

"What would you do if you were in a situation like this?"

Kuroko was unable to stop staring at Akashi's eyes. He stumbled over his words and in the end, he acted on impulse. The blue haired boy didn't know why he did it, but the moment he did, Akashi froze in place. Kuroko had leaned up and kissed the redhead gently on the lips. He felt Akashi tense up, but the redhead was quick to respond by pressing his lips against Kuroko's more firmly. The blue haired boy felt as if he had been wanting to kiss Akashi for his whole life, even though they had only met that day. Kuroko wrapped his arms around the redhead and tugged him closer, while Akashi kept his weight balanced on his elbows.

The redhead abruptly pulled away, his face turning red, "My apologies. That wasn't supposed to happen. I didn't…I'm sorry."

"Akashi-kun, what are you apologizing for?" The blue haired boy asked at the sudden outburst. Akashi just silently took Kuroko's hand and walked back to his room. The redhead sat down on his bed and sighed, his head pounding in pain. The blue haired boy stood still and wondered what he had done wrong.

Finally, Kuroko decided to leave, but before he left, he gently leaned down and kissed Akashi on the cheek, "Akashi-kun, you didn't do anything wrong. I kissed you by my own will, so don't apologize for something I wanted."

The blue haired boy was ready to leave but Akashi lightly grabbed Kuroko's hand and pulled him back down for a kiss.

"I'm sorry, but please stay." He whispered.

Akashi-kun is a confusing person… Kuroko thought, but he was more than happy to kiss the redhead back. The blue haired boy was pulled into a tight embrace and did his best to keep up with Akashi's gentle yet firm movements.

After a while, the two of them lay together on the bed, Kuroko's head nestled against the redhead's chest. Akashi absentmindedly ran his fingers through the blue haired boy's hair and did his best not to doze off.

"Murasakibara-kun mentioned your colour contacts. Can I see your eyes?" Kuroko whispered.

The redhead pursed his lips, deep in thought, but he slowly reached up to his eye and pulled out the color contact. The blue haired boy put his hands on both sides of Akashi's cheeks and saw that the redhead had his eyes closed tightly.

"Why are you hiding them?" Kuroko asked.

"It's a disgusting eye and it fits that description of your memory." Akashi muttered, feeling nervous.

The blue haired boy just lightly brushed his fingers over Akashi's eyelids and whispered, "Open your eyes."

The redhead slowly opened them to reveal his mismatched eyes. Kuroko gasped slightly when he saw them, his memories returning.

"Let me stay with you forever." Kuroko mumbled while sorting out his thoughts.

Akashi looked stunned, no one had ever proposed this to him. It was as if Kuroko had asked him to marry him. The redhead eventually nodded and said, "Okay. I'll gather the money by tomorrow. I don't want anyone else to have you."

The blue haired boy realized that the redhead didn't remember but the fact that he agreed was good enough for Kuroko. Akashi wrapped his arms around the blue haired boy and kissed him on the forehead.

Kuroko curled up against the redhead; happy to have found him again. Akashi watched the blue haired boy slowly fall asleep.

Kuroko mumbled in his sleep and the redhead found it undeniably adorable. Soon enough, Akashi fell asleep as well, holding onto Kuroko tightly.

The next morning, the blue haired boy was sent back to his room while Akashi sorted out double Kuroko's price. The redhead walked into his father's office and said, "Kuroko Tetsuya; he's mine."

"Oh? Since when do you claim prostitutes?" His father asked, amused by his son.

"Since last night. He's mine, so register it into the system." The redhead said. But his father just shook his head and said with a grin,

"I won't allow this. You don't have the money for Kuroko. He's over $100 000, a kid like you can't find the money."

Akashi brought out a suitcase and slammed it down onto his father's desk, "$300 000 in cash right in front of your eyes. Can I have him now?"

His father leaned forward, intrigued by the money in front of him. Then he said, "An extra 100 000 and you've got a deal."

Akashi just silently slammed another suitcase onto the desk and said, "I got an extra 200 000 because I knew you'd want more."

"Sold!" The redhead's father yelled. He made a phone call and said, "Kuroko Tetsuya is coming up right now."

Akashi waited patiently and saw the blue haired boy struggling against the grasps of two other workers.

"Let me go, you bastards!" Kuroko yelled. The workers released the blue haired boy who stumbled into Akashi's arms. The blue haired boy calmed down when he felt Akashi's arms around him and he pressed his face into the redhead's chest.

Behind them, they heard a gun cock. Akashi turned to see his father pointing a gun at him.

"I'd lose a son before I lose my business. Kuroko Tetsuya can get more money than you can ever give me. He's beautiful, innocent and a virgin."

The redhead held Kuroko tighter and mumbled, "You won't shoot me."

"Try me." His father said, his finger lightly placed against the trigger.

When Kuroko saw the gun, he remembered the pain he felt in his previous life and he held onto Akashi,

"Please…Akashi-kun, don't do this. Give me up. It's alright, just anything but a gun. I can't stand to go through that pain again. I don't want to watch you bleed to death in front of me." He said desperately while eyeing the gun. The redhead felt Kuroko tremble but he said,

"It's alright. We'll be fine."

Akashi's father ordered the guards, "Pull Kuroko away from him."

The blue haired boy shook his head furiously and held on tighter to the redhead. He screamed, "No! Please God, no! Give me up, Akashi-kun. Seijuro…please, don't die. Seijuro, remember me."

The moment his first name was spoken, it was enough to trigger Akashi's memories. He held onto Kuroko and brushed away his tears,

"I remember, Tetsuya." He said with a small smile.

At that moment, it was clear. If they were going to get shot, they would get shot together. Kuroko couldn't stop the tears from falling, he leaned up and kissed Akashi on the lips and then held onto him.

Before any shots were fired, the door to the redhead's father's office burst open. A tall tanned man walked in with a grin and said,

"Oi, Akashi-san! I heard from a specific blonde that you're breaking my father's rules again. You know he gave you all of this. This land, this building, the employees. All of this is yours as long as you follow his orders. That blonde also mentioned a cute, small, blue-eyed kid. Oh, I guess that's you," He pointed at Kuroko and acknowledged his presence, "You know my father will shut down your business if you break his rules. What's this?"

He walked towards the suitcases of money, "$500 000 for this kid and you're breaking the rules? This is over double his price, I'm sure of that. So let the buyer get his lover. That's the rule. No 'buts' and 'ifs' about it. Whoever buys, will get."

The redhead's father looked nervous. It wasn't the man he was afraid of, but it seemed to be the man's father. Akashi's father lowered the gun and signed a paper, "Kuroko Tetsuya now belongs to Akashi Seijuro."

The man took the paper and handed it to Kuroko who was frozen in place. The tanned man led them out of the room and back to the rest of the group.

"I'm Aomine Daiki; Kise's partner. It's nice to meet you."

"Daiki…" Akashi muttered, "Thank you."

"No problem." Aomine said with a smile, "You take care of Kise for me while I'm gone, the least I could do is save your life. For now, you should all stay together. As long as I'm near you guys, your father won't try to kill you in your sleep or something."

Akashi nodded in agreement. When they got to the room, Kise glued himself to Aomine and asked him if he was alright. The rest of the group talked to each other, leaving the pair of couples alone. Akashi held Kuroko on his lap and whispered to him,

"The moment we get out of here we're going to free everyone else, get our tally mark and celebrate for having 5 lifetimes together. How does that sound?"

Kuroko nodded, "It sounds like a very good idea."

Aomine stayed up all night to keep watch, just in case someone walked in. The next morning, Aomine, Kise, Akashi and Kuroko walked out as free people and they came back a day later to buy everyone else. Midorima, Murasakibara and Kagami were free people too and Akashi's father's business would soon fall. The redhead bought an apartment and lived happily with Kuroko.

Akashi also helped everyone else get their lives started by giving them some money.

Kuroko and Akashi got their fifth tally mark which slashed diagonally through the four previous ones. Then they spent every hour together. They did their best to be careful of hazards. Both of them decided that they wouldn't be messing with fate just by being careful; if fate wanted one of them dead, it would happen whether they were being careful or not. Akashi was the first to pass away and Kuroko couldn't help but lock himself in his room and cry for a few days. Eventually, Aomine got him out of the room and tried to cheer him up. The blue haired boy recovered and spent most of his days cleaning around the apartment and remembering Akashi. He daydreamed about how they would meet in their next life and how beautiful their love would be. He imagined the look on Akashi's face when they would remember their previous lives. He smiled at the thought of seeing him again.

A few years afterwards, Kuroko passed away as well.