Blood trickled down his fingertips. The cold air smelled like it had just rained. The moonlight shined on the red haired boy and his mismatched eyes glowed in the darkness. He watched as the body beneath him slowly had the life dissipate from it. The redhead smiled and started to giggle. The giggling quickly turned into laughing. The sounds rang through the city and then everything was silent.
"Ah…" Akashi recalled as he rubbed his fingertips on the cement walls. He lied back on his cold, hard bed and stared at the stone ceiling.
I wonder how long it's been since I got here. More importantly, how long has it been since I killed? Or…how long has it been since I've felt anything? Akashi thought to himself. He rolled onto his side and took a deep breath; he didn't even know if it was day or night. All he knew was that he was caught and thrown into a prison cell for who knows how long? It didn't take long to get used to the prison; the redhead tended to make a very intimidating first impression, so most of the other prisoners feared him yet admired him. Whatever Akashi said would happen.
So why am I not using my pawns to escape? The redhead thought. He knew that if he told his connections within the prison to let him escape, they would do it. But something kept telling Akashi to stay longer. Just a little bit longer.
Besides, if he left, he would have no idea where he was. They had blindfolded him before taking him to the prison, so finding his way back into the city would be impossible for him.
Akashi sat around in boredom day in and day out. All he did was stare at the ceiling and think about absolutely nothing. Even when the prisoners were left in a large room to socialize, Akashi remained alone. Having people around would only make the redhead on edge and he wouldn't be able to relax. If anything, he might accidentally kill them. Akashi was never relaxed either way though; he never slept peacefully, he was always tossing and turning, then he would wake up in cold sweat. He knew that eventually he would die in this prison.
One day, when Akashi came back from dinner, he noticed another bed in his cell which wasn't there before. The redhead called over Midorima, one of Akashi's personal guards, "Why the other bed, Shintaro?" He asked.
"Another prisoner is coming in today. He's probably someone you won't kill either."
"Oh?" Akashi said, taking that as a challenge, "Well, when is he arriving?"
Midorima pointed to a few guards coming their way with a blue haired prisoner, "He's right there."
The new prisoner had a slim figure that made him look weak and instantly his intelligent blue eyes darted from side to side, as if he was observing the premises. Then, he jumped over his handcuffs that held his hands behind his back and broke the neck of the guard in front of him. The guard behind him was kicked off the side railing and he fell a few floors down. Alarms blared and Midorima went to take action. Akashi was mesmerized with the boy's actions and he watched him silently from his cell block. The blue haired boy was quick on his feet, he jumped down a floor and tried to make a run for it.
"Shoot him with a sedative!" Midorima yelled into a radio while chasing after the loose prisoner. The blue haired boy ran through the halls and killed multiple guards in search of the exit, then he got hit with a dart. He looked down at the dart protruding his leg and pulled it out. His vision became hazy and his body slowly grew tired. The blue haired boy fell to his knees and Midorima caught him before his face met the ground. Midorima swung the light body over his shoulder and brought him back to Akashi's cell.
The blue haired boy was thrown onto the bed and Midorima said, "There's your cell mate. He's the same age as you but a few months younger. His name is Kuroko Tetsuya."
The redhead chuckled slightly and then asked, "How many guards did you lose because of this one prisoner?"
"When we were trying to capture him in the city, we lost ten and we lost seven just now. So overall, we lost seventeen due to this prisoner. He should wake up tomorrow." Midorima said and then he locked the steel door.
Akashi glanced at Kuroko and waited until Midorima was out of ear-shot, then he said, "You're not sleeping are you?"
Those beautiful blue eyes fluttered open and Kuroko whispered, "No."
"You were hit though, right? With the sedative, I mean." Akashi asked, wanting to know more about the blue haired boy even though deep inside he knew it was a bad idea.
Kuroko sat up on the bed and pinched the bridge of his nose, he groaned slightly and then said, "Yeah, I was hit with one dart. I wouldn't say I'm completely immune to it, but it doesn't last for a long time. Just makes me a bit…disorientated."
"So why pretend to be unconscious?" The redhead asked. It was unlike him to be so interested in someone, but the questions just rolled off his tongue with no end.
"I just killed seven people, they wouldn't have been so nice if I were conscious. They probably would've beaten me. You can't do much to an unconscious man. Better to be beaten tomorrow than today. I didn't see any other options for an escape so getting caught was all that I had left." Kuroko said while leaning back on his bed, "So what's your name? You know mine is Kuroko Tetsuya. I only know that you're twenty-three since I heard we're the same age."
The redhead watched the blue haired boy carefully and said, "Akashi Seijuro. What are you in for?"
Kuroko suddenly went quiet at that question and he turned onto his side. He mumbled a 'goodnight' and tried to ignore those deep red eyes staring at him.
After a few minutes, Kuroko felt his bed dip to one side from added weight so he turned to see what was happening. The redhead was on top of him and he asked again, "What are you in for?"
"None of your business. Get off of me." Kuroko spat out while thrashing around, but Akashi had him pinned.
The redhead decided to speak first in an effort to get Kuroko to open up, "I was a serial killer. I used to cut them multiple times so that they would bleed out eventually."
"Funny stuff, but I'm not interested in sharing my back story with you or how I got here. Nor am I interested in getting to know you." Kuroko said and he lightly shoved the redhead off of him.
Akashi sighed and walked back to his own bed to go to sleep. In the middle of the night, the redhead jolted awake from a nightmare. He gasped for air and looked to his side to see Kuroko shivering on the bed. The redhead took his blanket, which he convinced Midorima into giving it to him, and threw it over the blue haired boy's tiny body. Akashi stared up at the ceiling, trying to shake away his feelings from his nightmare. He listened to the calm breathing of Kuroko from across the room and fell asleep again.
In the morning, the alarms blared to wake all the prisoners. Akashi woke with a start again and he got up a bit too quickly, his vision went hazy for a minute. When he was able to focus again, he saw Kuroko staring at him from across the room. The blue haired boy was curled up in the blanket and he said, "Thank you…"
The redhead smiled gently, "No problem. If there's one thing you never get used to, it's how cold it is during the evening. I haven't gotten used to it yet either and I've been here for a long time."
Wait… Kuroko thought to himself, Doesn't that mean he was freezing the entire night because he gave me his blanket? What a strange guy… Pretty caring for a serial killer, huh.
Akashi heard the lock on the cell door open and Midorima walked in, "Time for breakfast, get out."
The redhead scratched the back of his head and walked out, "Yeah, yeah, I'm moving." Then he looked at Tetsuya and motioned for him to follow. The blue haired boy shook his head and said,
"I think I'll stay here."
"You do realize that if you stay, your next meal will be at 2pm." Akashi said.
Kuroko nodded and smiled to reassure the worried redhead, "That's fine, I just want some time to think."
The redhead shrugged and followed Midorima to the tables. Akashi sat alone while eating breakfast, thinking about what the blue haired boy was doing. When he got back to his cell, Kuroko wasn't there. The redhead was tempted to ask the guards where his cellmate had gone, but he knew better than to bother any of the guards other than Midorima. Akashi waited patiently in his cell for Kuroko. Finally, when Midorima came around for his shift, the redhead asked,
"What happened to my cellmate?"
The guard just shrugged, "I'm sorry Akashi, but this is something I can't tell you. That boy possesses great knowledge and that knowledge is something we have to know."
Akashi thought about the hints that Midorima was giving him and came around to a conclusion, "So…you're torturing him?"
"Ah…" Midorima started, "Well if I were torturing him I wouldn't be here. I'll just say that some of the guards are intentionally hurting Kuroko to try and get that information. But, you didn't hear that from me, okay? I'm not supposed to be telling you any of this."
Akashi whispered a "thank you" and went back to his bed. When it was lunch time, the redhead ate silently and observed the other prisoners. Then, he sat in a corner during their "play" time as Akashi liked to call it. He never considered it free time, since they were still prisoners, nothing about it was free. When the redhead returned to his cell, Kuroko still wasn't there. Akashi felt his chest growing heavy, it had been a long time since he talked to someone other than Midorima and having the blue haired boy disappear so quickly made Akashi miss him a little.
Akashi sat on his bed and noticed that Kuroko had folded the blanket for him and left it by his pillow. The redhead smiled and decided to read a book and wait just a bit longer.
After dinner, the redhead got sick of waiting,
How long do they plan on torturing him?! He'll die at this rate. Akashi thought. Midorima came around about an hour later and opened the cell door. The redhead jumped up and expected some sort of explanation, but instead two other guards dragged Kuroko into the cell. They dropped his limp body on the floor and left without a word.
Akashi swallowed thickly and went to help the blue haired boy. Kuroko was soaking wet and freezing cold. The redhead demanded for another blanket, "Shintaro, he's going to freeze at night! At least give me another blanket to wrap him in."
Midorima shook his head, "Sorry Akashi, I can't today. They're watching me. I got orders to leave both of you. Make do with what you have and I'll get back at you as soon as possible."
The redhead scoffed and quickly thought of how to get Kuroko warmed up. Akashi took the pillow case off of his own pillow and tried to dry the blue haired boy's hair. After, he took off his own shirt and peeled off Kuroko's wet shirt. The redhead also took off the blue haired boy's pants and wrapped him tightly in the blanket.
"Alright, he's dry." Akashi said to himself. The redhead put Kuroko on his bed and held him close. The blue haired boy mumbled something and curled into Akashi's warmth.
"I don't know anything…" Kuroko whispered, "I don't know…I don't…know…"
The redhead wrapped his arms around the blue haired boy more tightly and mumbled, "I know. It's alright if you don't know. It's okay."
Kuroko's tense body relaxed slowly at Akashi's voice and the two of them spent the long, cold night together.
In the middle of the night, Kuroko woke up, leaned his head to the side and bumped his head into Akashi's chest. The redhead seemed to be having a nightmare. There was a crease on his forehead and he flinched slightly from time to time. His breathing was unsteady and he mumbled, "I'm sorry…"
Kuroko reached his hand up to touch Akashi's cheek but when their skin touched, the redhead snapped awake. He grabbed onto Kuroko's wrists and pinned him down on the bed.
"What the—" The blue haired boy exclaimed when he saw Akashi's eyes. They weren't both red anymore; one of them now held a golden color. The redhead's hands were suddenly wrapped around Kuroko's neck. The blue haired boy gasped as his airway was cut off. His nails scratched at Akashi's hands. Akashi giggled slightly and said,
"Shall we have some fun?"
Kuroko stared at the redhead's face in horror. Those mismatched eyes pierced through him. The blue haired boy felt wet droplets falling onto his cheeks and noticed that the tears were falling from Akashi's eyes. The blue haired boy held onto the redhead's wrist tightly and tried to speak,
"A-Akashi-ku…kun…it hurts…"
The redhead's eyes widened and he blinked rapidly. Kuroko watched carefully and saw that his eyes were both red again. Akashi gasped and quickly let go. He looked down at his hands and then back at Kuroko who was catching his breath.
"I'm…I'm so sorry…" The redhead said slowly, knowing that Kuroko would never accept him again whether he was sorry or not, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen."
Akashi stood up and went to lie down on his own bed, away from the blue haired boy. Kuroko was in a slight state of shock but he eventually let his fatigue pull him into another deep sleep.
In the morning, when the breakfast alarm rang, Kuroko noticed that Akashi wasn't in the cell. The blue haired boy left to eat for the first time since he got to the prison.
Kuroko sat alone and gave anyone a hard stare if they tried to approach him. When breakfast was over, he returned to his cell and heard two people yelling inside.
"Switch me out!" Kuroko was able to tell that that was Akashi's voice.
"I can't do that Akashi, you know I can't."
His personal guard? The green haired man? Kuroko guessed.
"I don't belong in a prison Shintaro, I belong in a mental institution. I almost killed him yesterday because he touched my cheek while I was sleeping!" Akashi exclaimed.
Kuroko peeking in and saw the redhead sitting on his bed and the guard standing beside him.
"But you didn't kill him…" Midorima said.
"I can't control this! I'm not a killer like this but when he comes out, I can't stop myself!" Akashi yelled while gesturing to himself.
The guard sighed and said, "I'll see what I can do. For now, just do whatever makes you comfortable. I suggest staying away from Kuroko if he triggers something inside you."
When Midorima left, Kuroko walked in cautiously and saw that Akashi was staring up at the ceiling. The redhead didn't say anything to Kuroko. Even if the blue haired boy asked a question or said, "good morning", Akashi simply ignored him.
The blue haired boy sighed and sat down, deciding on a new approach, "I'm here because I assassinated people. A private assassin, I guess. Kind of a part of an organization?"
Kuroko saw that Akashi's interest seemed to peak at that, so the blue haired boy continued, "It wasn't just anyone though. I was an assassin to kill important people. I stole files from the army, from institutions and from the government. Then I hid those files so that nobody would find them. The guards here are trying to get that information out of me."
The redhead tried his best to stay silent but he ended up turning to face Kuroko and asked, "Why don't you just tell them?"
"Cause if I do then I'll have them chasing after me." Kuroko mumbled while hugging his knees close to his chest.
Akashi didn't understand any of it, but he figured that if Kuroko could tell the guards then he would. The blue haired boy smiled when he noticed he had Akashi's full attention and Kuroko asked,
"So…about yesterday, what happened?"
The redhead's eyes widened in fear and he quickly turned away from the blue haired boy, "I'm sorry."
Kuroko got off of his bed and walked up to Akashi; the blue haired boy stood in front of the redhead, who was lying down and Kuroko threw himself on top of him.
"What are you—?!" Akashi exclaimed.
"Shut up! Just shut up for a second. I'm not asking for an apology, I'm asking a question." The blue haired boy said while moving so that he was sitting on top of Akashi. The redhead waited for Kuroko to say something.
The blue haired boy straddled Akashi's hips and said, "I'm not exactly sure what happened last night, but I do know that you're afraid of it. I want you to explain to me what's going on so I can prepare myself if it happens again."
The redhead shook his head, "There's no way to prepare yourself. It happens when something is triggered and I just don't know what it is."
"Just tell me what happened then, Akashi-kun." The blue haired boy said in a soothing voice. Akashi did his best to avoid Kuroko's gaze and he explained, "I…uh…my mother said that it was a demon that possessed me during the night and hides during the day. She only meant it as a joke, but…I don't know, I found myself covered in blood one night and I couldn't tell what I did and when I looked at who I killed, it was my mother. It just happened. Eventually, I became aware of what I did during the night, but I can't stop it. I go out, kill someone and then I'm back to normal. When I first came to this prison, I killed my cellmate and I killed my next cellmate and the one after that. This is the first time I've been stopped…"
"I couldn't help but overhear earlier, but are you going to change cells because you don't want to kill me?" Kuroko asked.
"That's the plan. I need to stop myself while I'm still sane." The redhead said. The blue haired boy didn't move, instead he mumbled,
"I want you to stay."
Akashi chuckled, "Acting cute isn't going to get you anywhere."
"I'm not acting cute!" Kuroko exclaimed, "I mean it, I want you to stay. I was scared last night when you suddenly tried to choke me but it wasn't you who I was scared of; I guess it was the other you…I don't know. I just want you to be by my side and not someone else."
"…Fine." Akashi said, "But don't startle me, sometimes that can be a trigger. Last night was a perfect example of that. Now get off of me."
The blue haired boy had a devilish smiled on his face and he said, "One more favor."
Akashi groaned, "What?"
"Call me by my name. You haven't said it once yet." Kuroko said, "I called you by your name twice now, yet my name has never parted from those lips of yours."
Before Akashi said anything, the alarm for lunch rang and the redhead sat up so that Kuroko was sitting on his lap. Midorima can and unlocked the door, "Out." The guard muttered, ignoring the scene in front of him.
Kuroko refused to move so the redhead simply carried the blue haired boy out of the cell.
"Put me down." Kuroko said.
"Yeah Akashi, you're not allowed to do that. It's considered violence and assault. You can easily kill him by throwing him over that railing." Midorima said in a dull voice.
The redhead gently put Kuroko back on his two feet and said, "I was just taking my Tetsuya out to the lunch tables."
"Who gave you permission to call me by my first name?! Also, don't you 'my Tetsuya' me; I don't belong to anyone." Kuroko said while hitting the redhead's shoulder.
Midorima stopped them and gripped the blue haired boy's shoulder, "Kuroko will be coming with me."
Akashi's expression hardened when he heard those words leave Midorima's lips. Kuroko stiffened when he felt the guard's hand on his shoulder. The blue haired boy nodded and silently followed Midorima to another room.
Akashi ate by himself and ended up smashing his tray against the wall in frustration, "Please, just give them the information…" He muttered to himself, "I don't want to see you hurt."
The day passed slowly and when Kuroko was dragged back into the room in the evening, soaking wet again, Midorima handed Akashi two more blankets.
"Thank you, Shintaro." The redhead said as he began to undress Kuroko from his soaked clothing. When Akashi was taking off his own clothing to put it on the blue haired boy, Midorima said,
"He refused to talk today as well…But we told him that if he tells us the location of the files and we retrieve all of them we would set him free since we don't exactly have evidence of him killing anyone. Do you think he'll tell us now?"
"No. He's too stubborn for that. Even if he gets his freedom, he most likely won't tell you anything. Besides, there's someone else he's scared of." Akashi said.
Midorima left the two of them and the lights in the prison were all turned off. The redhead embraced Kuroko to share body heat and the blue haired boy curled up against the warmth.
In the morning, the blue haired boy made sure not to make any sudden movements as he untangled himself from Akashi's arms. When the redhead woke up, he asked Kuroko,
"Are you going to tell them? You'll be free you know."
The blue haired boy shook his head no, "The files are probably gone."
Weeks passed and Kuroko always came back soaking wet from being dunked into a water tank over and over again. When Akashi couldn't take it anymore, he confronted Kuroko,
"Just tell them. You keep saying that the files are most likely not there anymore, well how would you know? Just take a chance! You can be free."
"It doesn't matter…" The blue haired boy muttered.
Akashi scowled and pushed Kuroko against the hard wall of their cell, "Don't be stupid. You think I don't see you tense up whenever the guards come and get you? You're scared and yet you refuse to tell them because you think that the files aren't there anymore."
"So what if I'm scared!" Kuroko yelled, "You think I can be tortured without feeling anything? I don't tell them because even if I'm set free, they'll just kill me."
"Who's 'they'?" Akashi asked.
"The people who work with me. Actually, it's more like the people I work for."
When Kuroko tried to push himself off the wall, Akashi quickly grabbed him and pinned him down against one of their beds and said, "I'll protect you. I'll protect you from them."
"How could you if you're still in jail?" Kuroko demanded, laughing slightly, while struggling against the redhead's grasp. The redhead leaned down and kissed Kuroko on the lips. When he pulled away, Akashi muttered,
"I will protect you. Trust me, I'll escape. I have quite a few ties within this prison and not all of them are prisoners."
The blue haired boy was silent for a while and then he mumbled, "Fine."
"Good." Akashi said and then he moved off of the blue haired boy. Kuroko grabbed the redhead by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down into another kiss. Akashi was stunned for a moment but he melted into the kiss and tilted the blue haired boy's chin towards him to deepen it. Their memories were jogged and both of them pulled away with a gasp. Suddenly, everything mattered; every second that went by was precious to them and they were determined to live and spend their lifetime at the fullest with each other.
The lock on the door clattered open and Midorima walked in, "It's time."
Kuroko slowly pulled away and told Midorima, "I'll only confess with Seijuro by my side."
The guard thought for a moment and then said, "Sure. Both of you; out."
When the redhead passed Midorima, he whispered, "Notify Daiki, Atsushi and Ryouta that I will be leaving soon."
Midorima nodded and then guided them through the halls to another room.
Kuroko sat at a table while holding Akashi's hand and he said, "I belong to an organization in which I was trained to become an assassin. My boss is Kagami Taiga, he sent out all the orders. The files I took were given to Kagami and I never saw them again, however I do know the location is 34 degrees North and 41 degrees West. Have fun swimming."
The guards scowled and quickly sent out people to retrieve the files. Midorima took Akashi and Kuroko back to their cell and said, "If the files are found, you will be set free and Akashi will be sent to a mental institution since he wasn't sane while murdering those people."
The redhead smiled, "Thank you, Shintaro."
A few days later, Kuroko was set free. Before he left, Akashi said, "Tetsuya, once you get out of here, go straight to where we first met, okay? Wait for me there."
"Got it, Seijuro."
Having their memories back was more useful than anything, but they were afraid of parting from each other, even if it was going to be for a short time.
Once Kuroko left, Akashi got ready to leave as well. He was shoved into a car to be transferred to the mental institution. While traveling down the road, the redhead fiddled with his handcuffs using the key that Midorima had given him. When Akashi unlocked the handcuffs, he pretended they were still locked and waited around patiently.
The car stopped abruptly near the mental institution and a police officer approached the car, "Hello, I need you guys to step out of the car." The blonde officer said, "There has been a change in the system."
The guards looked at the blonde suspiciously and said, "Show me your badge."
A purple haired police officer appeared behind the blonde and said, "What's going on?"
Before the guards could respond, Akashi broke the driver's neck and let the blonde shoot the other guard in the passenger seat.
"Akashicchi! It's nice to see you again." The blonde said.
"Ryouta, good job. I'll buy you candy later."
"Aka-chin…I helped." The police officer beside Kise said.
Akashi smiled warmly and pat the tall officer's back, "I know Atsushi, I'll buy you snacks as well."
It wasn't long before other police officers noticed that something had happened. They chased after the group, but each of them were shot down from afar.
"I'll have to buy something for Daiki for being such a good shot." Akashi muttered to himself knowing that Aomine was perched on a rooftop with a sniper protecting them and guaranteeing their getaway. But first, before buying his friends some snacks, he had to get to Kuroko who was waiting for him at Teiko. The redhead's group escorted Akashi to the school safely without anyone knowing.
"But…Akashicchi? Why are we coming here?" Kise asked while opening the rusted doors to the gym.
The redhead ran inside and looked around, "I came here to meet someone."
Kuroko ran out from the shadows and straight into Akashi's arms. "I missed you." The blue haired boy said.
"It's only been a few hours, Tetsuya." Akashi remarked.
Kuroko nuzzled his face into the redhead's neck, "I still missed you. 24/7 with you isn't enough for me, Seijuro."
Akashi smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around the blue haired boy, "Want to go get our tattoos?"
Kuroko nodded, "We'll have to move countries after that too because people are going to keep looking for us."
The blue haired boy greeted Akashi's group and then went on his way with redhead. When they got their eleventh tattoo, both of them decided to move to Spain and once they settled down in Spain, they didn't know what to do.
Kuroko was lying on the bed in Akashi's arms and he traced circles on the redhead's bare chest. The redhead laughed, "Tetsuya…that tickles."
"Oh? I never knew the great emperor was ticklish." The blue haired boy said and he continued to tickle the redhead. Akashi laughed and then rolled over so that he was on top of Kuroko.
"I love you so much, you know that right?" The redhead said.
Kuroko nodded and let Akashi shower him with small kisses.
Both of them caught onto Spanish really quickly, so it wasn't hard to travel around Spain and make a living. They spent every day together and both of them enjoyed every day as if it would be their last. Eventually, Akashi passed away and left Kuroko all alone to travel by himself and eat meals by himself. The blue haired boy grew lonely without the bright redhead beside him every day, but he knew he just had to wait. A few years later, Kuroko passed away as well.