It didn't take long for midorima and akashi to show up to the meadow. Aomine had contacted them as quickly as he could through the threads. They were now waiting to see what was so important.
" Well, Aomine, we came as quick as we could like you asked, so what's the big hurry?" Akashi crossed his arms, a little annoyed that there wasn't a direct emergency to deal with.
"It might be easier to explain if we show you." aomine looked to kuroko and nodded his head. Kuroko got the hint and attempted the same thing he did earlier. Again, just like before, the symbol appeared in front of kuroko, glowing brightly. With Aomine's word, Kuroko relaxed and opened his eyes. Akashi still had his arms crossed, but his facial expression was one of shock. Midorima had his head down. He was mumbling quietly to himself.
"That symbol is similar to ones i've seen on enchanted items, but this one is a bit… i don't know how to explain it...more like...complicated. I've never seen one like it before. plus , I can't teach him anything about his powers if their locked away like this...so i was wondering, do you guys know anything about this?"
Akashi hummed at the question.
"tetsuya...i have a question for you...were your parents… sorcerers or mages?"
"No-ah…"
Kuroko paused. His parents...the ones who raised him had no powers or magic to their name. But as he learned recently, those were not his real parents. He never met his birth parents. His birth parents could have been mages and he would never have known.
"My...my mother told me before she died that she was not my real mother. She told me that my real parents sealed my powers away. I don't know if that means that they were mages or not."
Akashi sighed.
"Tetsuya...a seal like yours...it couldn't have been done without magic...strong magic at that. Most people who are able to produce such magic are of high class. I would even go as far to say its the work of royalty."
Midorima entered the conversation.
" it's not only that...even royalty would have to use their life force to create such a thing!"
Kuroko was having a hard time comprehending what they were saying. Royalty? What? Life force? What? what?
"I don't understand... what are you guys implying?"
The men looked at each other, concerned. Akashi spoke up.
"If your mother and father indeed made that seal, they were high class people who risked their lives to protect yours. No one makes a seal that strong, unless their life was on the line. You probably would have died, if they had not placed a barrier on you."
Kuroko placed a hand on his chest. This was a lot for him to take in. his real parents used their lives to protect him. The only thing they left for him was this barrier. Their love and protection had been with him all this time, yet he never noticed. He felt like he had betrayed his family.
Now that kuroko knew the true meaning behind the barrier, he was having second thoughts about releasing it. To release it meant letting go of all of his parents feeling, thoughts, love and compassion that they gave their life to create. All they wanted to do was protect kuroko and he was planning on destroying that.
Tears started to stream from kuroko's eyes.
"I-i can't get rid of something like that! This barrier...they made it so that i could live right? They died so i could live! How could i-how could i!-"
Kuroko dropped to his knees. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. All of the stress that he had gone through the past week had exploded with this realization.
Aomine knelt down do kuroko and held his shoulder.
"The barrier isn't what you should be cherishing tetsu. They didn't give their lives to create the barrier, they gave their lives to protect yours. What you should be cherishing is your life. The fact that you are alive is their message of love to you. Its okay to release the barrier, as long as you remember the sacrifice they made for you."
Kuroko was in a blank state right now. He wasn't responding to what aomine was saying, but he was listening. He was taking to heart every word like a lifeline.
"The barrier...it can be released, but we will need someone with an enormous amount of power to release it. Akashi and I can't do it. Our powers don't amplify very well. Aomines power can amplify his muscles, but he's not very good at projecting just the magic. If he did it, he may end up hurting you badly."
Midorima became frustrated. This problem needed to be solved before they left withsking.
"What about Atsushi? He has amplifying magic, doesn't he?"
Midorima nodded to akashi.
"Yes, he does but i've never asked him if he's able to control it…"
Akashi huffed and closed his eyes in concentration. Completely ignoring midorima. A moment of silence passed before akashi opened his eyes.
"He said he would try. He's coming right now."
Aomine scuffed.
"What's worse? Me punching tetsu, or murasakibara completely obliterating him? He's a fucking giant! Sure he will have a lot of power, but it's useless if kuroko dies because he was crushed to death!"
Midorima became angry with aomines tone.
" you have shown to us before that you cannot handle your magic well! Murasakibara may be able to do this safer than you ever will! Besides, with akashi's domination magic, and my mind control magic, we can stop him if things get sticky! Unlike you, who has resistance to control magic. Our giant is our only option, in fact."
Aomine got up angrily, but found himself deflated.
"That! i-i ...that wasn't my fault… i've learned a lot since then! Come on! Just let me try!"
Akashi stepped in. his aura made both men shut up.
"Both of you. Stop your incessant arguing. Aomine...i'm only just starting to trust you again. You better remember your place."
Aomine looked down, upset by akashis words.
"Y-yes, sir…"
Akashi looked to kuroko who was still on the ground.
"Tetsuya? Are you okay?"
Kuroko looked up to akashi. His eyes were practically lifeless.
"Akashi-kun...what if my barrier goes away and i only become weaker? What if when the berrier goes away i die? It's unpredictable right? … … i'm scared…"
"Tetsuya-"
"kuro -chin, worrying like that is bad for your heart you know~ "
Everyone looked up to murasakibara as he lazily walked into the meadow.
"I promise i won't crush you if that's any consolation. If i didn't think i could do it, i wouldn't even bother showing up, so that should be comforting right~? Oh, also if it will help you cheer up, momoi told me to tell you that the power within you is much stronger than the barrier around you. The barrier is holding you back, she said~"
A light came back into kuroko's eyes.
"Really?"
Atsushi nodded strongly. Kuroko let in a breath before standing up.
" momoi san, she can see into the future right?"
Aomine answered the question for atsushi.
" she can… but only by a week. Besides, she gets major headaches when she does it. I guess she felt your frustration through the threads and wanted to help you. She's pretty nice like that."
Kuroko nodded his head.
"Does the future in her eyes ever change?"
Aomine sighed.
"No, not really. The future rarely changes. When it does though, it's called a miracle. I've only seen it happen once, and momoi was the one who made the miracle happen."
Kuroko was still nervous. He was still visibly shaking, but right now, with everyones words, he felt a little more convinced that this was going to be okay.
"then...murasakibara-kun , i'll leave the releasing of this barrier to you then."
Everyone looked at kuroko, surprised to hear him so confidentiality announce his decision after being so upset about it before.
Kuroko understand their confusion and decided to explain.
"I want to be someone who is helpful to the group. I don't want to sit on the bench the whole time afraid of getting hurt. If-if what momoi says is true then...than my fears are holding us back. I don't want that! Right now...you guys are my only family. If I lose you guys, than I have nothing left. So please, release the barrier and show me the power within me! If it's really there and it can help everyone, then let's not waste any time."
Kuroko sat down cross-legged, his hands ferm on his knees, his eyes closed awaiting the ordeal to begin. He knew the risks, but he wasn't going to go back on his word.
Murasakibara hummed as he sat down in front of kuroko.
"Aka-chin, mido-chin, I've never done this before so be prepared okay~? I'm probably not going to touch the symbol until I feel fully charged so be on guard when I reach out my hand."
Akashi and midorima nodded. Atsushi looked to kuroko softly.
"Kuro-chin, I need you to concentrate like you did before okay~?"
Kuroko nodded and concentrated until his symbol appeared.
Atsushi nodded to himself before closing his eyes.
Aomine and the others watched atsushi closely. A soft purple glow enveloped his body. They watched as the glow became larger by the minute. What once had been a soft aura was now a figure of a giant. Murasakibara's immense energy had taken on his giant form, while murasakibara sat in pure concentration.
They all watched closely as murasakibara lifted his arm, controlling the energy Giants arm in return. Almost as if his energy was just an enlarged version of himself. Murasakibara coiled back his arm for a punch. Akashi and midorima went in defensive stances, preparing for the worst to happen.
Murasakibara let the punch fly. While his real arm stood inches from kuroko's chest, barely tapping the symbol, the Giants arm came crashing down on top of kuroko. The energy of the blast blew the grass and flower petals all around them in a storm of foliage. As the gust settled down, the scene before them became more intense as the barrier was still intact. Despite the fact that it was still there, atsushi still held his fist to the symbol.
Then, they could all hear it.
The small ping. Then a noise like cracking ice. It was breaking.
"Kuro-chin, I'm gonna break it."
Kuroko gritted his teeth before nodding.
Atsushi slowly pulled back his fist, before letting it slam against the symbol. The blue aura surrounding kuroko shattered.
Kuroko found himself unexpectedly in his conscious. Two people stood in front of him smiling. The woman had a long white dress on and beautiful blue hair. The man wore a button down and black pants. The woman reached out to kuroko and caressed his cheek. Tears fell from his eyes.
"one day you will be able to control your power, use it and…live! Goodbye my son… we will always love you."
The woman kissed kuroko's forehead before disappearing into nothing, with her husband side by side with her.
Kuroko opened his eyes. Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks. Murasakibara was taken aback by the tears.
" ah! Kuroko-chin? Does it hurt? Your crying..."
Kuroko was brought back to his surroundings. He could feel the tears on his cheeks, to which he quickly wiped them away.
" No, im fine. I'll be fine. Thank you for doing this."
"Mm. no problem. If you ever need help just ask. I'm going back to the house now. I promised momo i would braid her hair before we left."
Kuroko giggled at the thought of a big man like atsushi braiding the hair of a small lady like momoi. Atsushi got up and waved goodbye as he exited the meadow. As soon as he was gone, aomine helped kuroko off the ground and midorima started looking kuroko over.
"There doesn't seem to be any visible wounds...do you feel okay kuroko?"
Kuroko moved his arms around before shaking his head.
" yes, i'm fine."
Akashi pulled midorima back and took his place in front of kuroko.
"tetsuya , despite everything you just went through, i still expect you to discover your power before we arrive in Northshirre. We will leave you to practice with aomine. We will come and get you when we are ready to leave."
Kuroko nodded and watched as the two left the meadow leaving him alone with aomine.
Aomine sighed loudly before gripping kuroko's shoulder.
" hey, I know you're not fine. You can't lie to me so don't even to me."
Kuroko put his head down and shook his head.
"I'm...i'm just overwhelmed. Too much has happened in such a short amount of time that i don't know what to focus on. My heart is so broken that i don't even care anymore. What's the use-!"
Kuroko was suddenly shut up. It took him a minute to fully realize what had happened. Aomines face was abnormally close. Their lips were pushed together. Kuroko could feel aomines breath. It was hot. Aomine was gripping kuroko's back so he couldn't run away.
This is a kiss. Kuroko thought.
Kuroko relaxed a bit. His brain had finally settled down and his heart was beating frantically. Kuroko let his jaw go slack and aomine took the opportunity to slip his tongue in. kuroko lost his breath in the new kiss. A single tear ran down kuroko's cheek and aomine broke the kiss. Aomine held kuroko close, seeing that the boy was feeling weak.
"You should never finish that sentence tetsu." kuroko blinked.
"Why?"
" what's the use of living, is like saying you what to die. The world is always against you. It's always trying to kill you. If you give it a chance like that, it will definitely take it."
Kuroko sighed and leaned his head on Aomine's shoulder.
"That thing you did-"
Aomine blushed and looked up to the sky.
"...it was the only thing i could think of to keep you from saying it... How do you feel?"
"Calm. focused. Exhilarated… i'm not thinking of anything anymore...my heart feels less painful. What was it?"
Aomine hugged kuroko closer.
"It was just a kiss."
"Isn't a kiss... a lover's promise?"
"More like...a lover's confession."
A/n: kisses are wonderful aren't they? I wonder if the plot is okay? Is everyone keeping up? I hope so! anyways don't forget to review favorite and follow!
Love,
Mousekid!