Dawn came quickly after a night of fun and rest. The morning dew covered the cloth of the tents sparkling in the fresh morning sun. The earth was already warm, even though the sun had just barely peaked. Kuroko emerged from his tent well rested and fully dressed. For the first time in a while, he was able to get some restful sleep with no dreams to ruin him REM. He felt a little better today. Maybe it was because of the sleep, or maybe it was the fact that the voice was quiet and hadn't said a word since the incident. Kurko stretched his arms to the sky. No matter what the cause was, he was still feeling brand new and it was time to find kise and aomine who had been keeping watch so the rest of the miracles could sleep.
Finding the two powerful mages was easy enough to do. Their loud voices echoed through the woods and campsite, bothering the waking birds and animals.
"Why do you have to be so mean aomine-cchi!?"
"I told you it was an accident!"
Kuroko walked up to the arguing pair. Aomine was standing next to a dimming fire holding a bucket, while kise stood apart, soaked from head to toe.
"What happened here?"
Aomine noticed Kuroko with a slight startle.
"Oh hey tetsu. Kise is just being a brat. I was going to put out the fire this morning but I tripped over his stupid log for a body and the bucket spilled on him. I told him it was an accident but-"
"Who are you calling a log!? You're the one who has lead for feet!"
"If you hadn't been laying right by the fire, I wouldn't have tripped on you, you dumbass!"
Kuroko sighed and shook his head.
"I think kise kun should go dry off. I'm sure we will be headed out soon."
Kise frowned as he rung out his coat.
"At least Kuroko-chii cares for me. If I have him I don't need anyone else, especially stupid aomine-chii."
Aomine grunted before crossing his arms over his chest.
"Today is my turn to train him dumbass. He's mine today. You won't even see him so you can forget that little wish of yours.".
Kuroko tugged on aomines long tailed vest.
"Come on guys stop fighting."
Kise gave kuroko a fragile glance before walking back to camp. Kuroko sighed and turned back to aomine.
"Kise kun looked really upset aomine kun."
Aomine shrugged his shoulders before turning to the fire. He used the side of his foot to kick up dust which put out the ambers.
"He's just a crybaby. He'll get over it soon. He always makes a big deal out of nothing. I even apologized too."
Kuroko thought for a moment before taking a breath.
"You two know each other well don't you."
Aomine grunted as they started heading back to camp.
"I wish I didn't. But I guess keeping your friends close and your enemies closer has its benefits right?"
Kuroko shrugged.
"If you say so."
.
.
.
Back at camp, things were starting to get lively. Everyone was awake and starting to tear down the tents while murasakibara hustled up some breakfast for everyone. Aomine sighed loudly I'm irritation.
"we never get to rest very long. It sucks. At least atsushi is making breakfast. Nothing beats his food."
Kuroko nodded in agreement as they walked up to midorima and akashi.
"Tetsuya, daiki there you are. Help us get these tents down."
Kuroko and aomine nodded and began to until the ropes that held up the tents.
"By the way, ryota came running by soaking wet, did something happen?"
Kuroko stayed quiet while aomine sighed.
"Just a little accident this morning with putting out the fire. Nothing to worry about."
Akashi lifted his eyebrow, suspecting that lies were told, but instead of asking about it, he let it go and continued to deconstruct the tent.
It wasn't long before all three tents where disassembled and the group was sitting down for a nice hot meal before their long journey. The breakfast of choice this morning was fried ham and rice. It wasn't as nice as having eggs and bacon but it did its job in filling them up.
Before kuroko knew it, he was on his horse and on the road again. Kise was up front with murasakibara refusing to look behind him. He was still very upset. Kuroko felt bad that he couldn't cheer the blonde up. But he knew he had no time for it. He had to learn the basics and he only had a few days to do it.
Kuroko looked to aomine who was staring straight ahead with a sour look on his face.
"Aomine kun... shouldn't we start training?"
Aomine was ripped from his focus only to have it grabbed back up by kuroko's presence.
Aomine sighed before stretching.
"Yeah, I guess we can start. So...what did kise teach you yesterday?"
Kuroko recalled yesterday's training. His look became slightly angry when he remembered which both confused and enlightened aomine.
Kuroko let out a sigh, petting his horses mane carefully.
"Kise's intention was to help me learn how to use threads, but seeing as it was my first time in my unconscious, it didn't go very smoothly. It was actually out of luck that I used kise's thread."
Aomine hummed.
"So, I guess we'll start there then. Go ahead and do what you did last time, only this time it should be easier. Just don't go as deep okay?"
Kuroko huffed a little.
"That's easy for you to say. It doesn't matter though, I'll try my best."
Kuroko slightly lifted himself off the saddle to cross his legs together. Aomine watched as the boy got settled and closed his eyes.
"Are you ready tetsu?"
Kuroko nodded and aomine took a breath.
"Okay then. Go into your unconscious and feel each of the threads when you find them. When you find mine, pull it. I will contact you when you do."
Kuroko breathed out. His mission was clear, now all he had to do was do it.
Don't go too deep.
Don't go too deep.
Don't go too deep.
Kuroko's unconscious, past the darkness and present was a space unlike the one he saw yesterday. One wall of the space was mirror like, reflecting only kuroko in a dark, colorless room. It felt lonely in there, like something was missing, like unspeakable incidents happened there. Kuroko took a breath and reminded himself.
"Don't go too deep. Find aomines thread."
Making sure to avoid the mirror, Kuroko looked carefully in the small mental space, looking for something, anything that looked like what he saw yesterday. By simply looking up, kuroko found what he was looking for. Five threads, each of different sizes and shapes hung down from an empty void. They were just long enough for kuroko to touch. Kuroko touched the fist string. It was braided trightly several times making it thick and disorganized. As soon as he touched the thread a memory played on the mirror. Murasakibara was sat close to the fire, stirring the pot of rice. A memory, kuroko recalled, that he received this morning. Now knowing how it worked kuroko touched the next one. It was a symmetrical, thinly braided thread, much like sewing thread. The memory that played on the mirror was of akashi getting on his horse after packing his saddle bag.
Moving quickly onto the next thread, kuroko touched a straight, frayed thread that hung next to akashi's. The memory that played was of midorima helping kuroko onto his horse. Kuroko smiled at the memory.
"That was the nicest thing he's done for me since I met him...I think."
Kuroko sighed.
"There's only two more. One of these has to be aomine kuns."
Kuroko looked carefully at the last two threads. So far, every string has somewhat represented how he characterized his friends. Kuroko looked at the shape of the strings. One was a thin rope like thread and the other was a thick, bulky thread. The thin thread reminded kuroko of kise's thread that he saw yesterday. Kuroko looked to the bulky thread and nodded his head.
"That has to be his."
Kuroko, not thinking twice, pulled the thread. In the blink of an eye, kuroko was in a white room with aomine standing in front of him. aomine smirked and placed a hand on kuroko's shoulder.
"Good job tetsu. Now you know how to use your threads right? Go ahead and come back. I'll be waiting."
Back in the conscious, hearing the walking and whinny of horses, kuroko opened his eyes to see Aomine's back.
"...I'm back…"
Aomine turned around to see that kuroko was awake and quickly slowed his horse down so that they were riding side by side.
" yo tetsu! Welcome back. Job well done."
Kuroko uncrossed his legs and took a breath.
"Thank you aomine-kun. How long did that take me?"
Aomine smiled.
"It actually didn't take that long. Maybe five minutes? That's pretty good for someone who has only done this once before."
Kuroko blushed a little at the complement.
"Thank you. What will I be learning next? I've mastered thread contact haven't I?"
Aomine nodded.
"Yeah, you've got that down. Now that that's done, I think it's time to see if we can't get you to use your power."
Kuroko frowned and looked carefully at aomine.
"Do you think I really have power? I'm really weak and the only thing I'm good at is not being seen...what kind of power is that?"
Aomine hummed.
"Have you ever tried using it on purpose?"
Kuroko shook his head.
"I didn't think it was something that could be used…"
"So then, let's try it. It can't hurt to test it out. Just go into the feeling you have when you disappear."
"A feeling?"
"Don't you feel something when it happens?"
Kuroko thought for a moment. All of the times he disappeared were when no one was paying attention to him. He felt like he was blending into the scenery and it almost felt... lonely. Perhaps even a little like jealousy but not as strong. A bland feeling, lost in thoughts of being alone.
"I do...I'll try and see if that feeling is the trigger."
Kuroko went to concentrate on his memories of loneliness, but was stopped suddenly.
"Hold up a second tetsu. This type of training really shouldn't be done on horseback. I'm sure you wouldn't want to accidently murder your horse right?"
Kuroko looked down to Road who let out a whinny. Kuroko petted the horse's mane and looked to aomine and shook his head. Aomine sighed.
"Yeah I figured you wouldn't. When we pick up satsuki we will have some time to train properly."
Kuroko frowned.
"You made it sound like you wanted me to train now…"
Aomine rubbed the back of his head.
"Sorry...but don't get me wrong! I'm not going to waste this time. I was thinking pretty hard about your powers. I think there may be an element that we're missing."
"What do you mean?"
"We'll take me for example. The main element of my powers is strength. Midorima's is the mind, kise's is light and form, and akashi's fire and domination. The one piece of your powers that we have seen so far is something similar to invisibility right?"
Kuroko shrugged.
"Well...I think if I were turning invisible, I wouldn't be able to see myself so I don't think it's that. It's just that people have a hard time seeing me...like there's something in the way."
Aomine pondered the new information.
"Something in the way? Like a barrier?"
As soon as aomine spoke that last word, the horse's stopped and akashi's voice rang through the Hurd.
"Satsuki's home is just up the trail! Be prepared to stop in a few minutes!"
Aomine looked to kuroko with a sigh and a shrug.
"Well, we can continue this conversation after some quick training at satsuki's."
Kuroko nodded and took a breath.
Barrier huh?
Something about the word spoke scripture to kuroko. The word felt right in his head. Almost as if he had used the word countless times before. A bit of deja Vu came over kuroko.
Barrier? Barrier… why does the word hide so much meaning for me?
The word... unknown to kuroko was in fact a very powerful word. His past...far beyond his birth, was the harbinger of it. The last thing he heard, or perhaps the last memory before being reborn as a miracle, held deep within his memories, uncovered themselves. Powerful feelings of sadness and loneliness pang his heart with the word.
"Kuroko! Your barrier! Put up your barrier! He's going to die!"
"It's not working! I can't!"
"Kuroko...don't worry...Remember, we will be best friends by fate; we will always find each other...even if death pulls us apart. We promised didn't we? I'll see you in the next life kuroko..."
"- NOO!"
/A/N: thanks to you guys who brought me back! there is more to come with this story and I refuse to abandon it!
Love,
Mousekid!