Thanks to CaptainPanic, Ice Phoenix 1213, HPPJfan4105, SakuraKoi and jillian. Malfoy for adding this story to your lists!

And a huge thanks for all readers out there! I will never ever finish this without all your supports! :D

Finally, here is the last chapter! It's dedicated to Rinfantasy and BabyNightmareLady for always giving your thoughts!

Hope you all enjoy this, happy reading! :D


Chapter XX

The Journal of Life


"Tetsuya, this is your birthday present. Happy belated birthday!" He handed a small elegant dark blue box to the smaller teen.

Kuroko blinked in surprise then smiled. "Thank you, Seijuro-kun. May I open it?"

"Of course. "

Kuroko carefully opened the lid. Inside the box laid a gold circle locket with elegant tiny sculpture. It was also attached to a matching long chain necklace. He carefully traced it with his forefinger and lifted it up.

"I appreciate this. But… I don't like you wasting your money on me."

Akashi chuckled. "I didn't waste money. In fact, I spent nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yes, nothing. It is a pass down in Akashi family." He explained.

"What do you mean by that?"

"That locket was a handmade by my ancestor in the early 19th century. He was one of the best goldsmiths in Europe at that time. During the Victorian era, he made this personally to propose his wife."

Kuroko closed the lid and handed it back to Akashi. He was touched by the history behind it and in fact, he felt butterflies in his stomach the moment he heard the word 'proposed'. But still the weight of the locket scared him. "I'm sorry but can't take this. It is a very valuable item of your family. I don't think I deserve this."

"It is valuable, but you are more valuable to me. So, please take it." Akashi gave a reassuring smile.

"But…."

"Or are you trying to reject my proposal?" The red haired pretended to feel hurt.

"W-what? That's not it! How can I possibly reject you?! I-I mean, I-I am happy you gave this to me but… you know what I mean, r-right?" The bluenette could feel his cheeks and ears burned. His heart and stomach were full of butterflies that wanted to explode.

"I don't know what you mean, Tetsuya. Please explain it to me." Akashi smirked

"You can be a sly fox sometimes. Do you know that, Seijuro-kun ?" The said man smirked wider.

Kuroko sighed in defeat "Okay, but are you really sure I can have this?"

"Yes, Tetsuya. I am giving it to you."

"Thank you so much, Seijuro-kun. It is very beautiful."

Kuroko traced it once again before clicked it open. There was a small photo of both of them. It was from their date, inside Disney store to be precise. A picture of them with Disney hats. Beside the photo, there was a foreign elegant writing.

"What does it mean?"

"Nec nobis praeter mortem, it means 'not even death do us apart'." Akashi said as he squeezed Kuroko's hand gently.


"Have you taken off everything? Jewelry, watch, phone? Make sure you do not to carry anything inside, Kuroko-kun." A middle aged lady asked while observing the patient intensely.

"Yes, head nurse."

"Good. I will come back in 5 minutes. Please prepare yourself." She gave a quick smile before heading out of the room.

After the nurse went out, Kuroko handed the locket to Akashi. "I am sorry, I can't take this inside. Please take care of it."

"Of course. Don't take your time too long or I am taking this back." The red haired smirked.

"You gave it to me just few days ago and you want it back? That's rude." Kuroko pouted.

Akashi leaned in for a light kiss. "I am just kidding. You know that, don't you?" he ruffled his hair.

"That reminds me, shouldn't you be at school now? It's final exam period, isn't it?"

"Don't worry about it. I am done with exam a few days ago."

"I see. That's why Kise-kun and Aomine-kun made a big fuss yesterday."

"Yeah, I know. Too bad, I'm not giving hints."

Then there was a knock, followed by a sliding door opened. "Kuroko-kun, are you ready?" The nurse pushed in a wheel chair with IV stand.

"Yes." The nurse helped him out of the bed and seated him on it.

"Head nurse, could you please give me a moment." The nurse smiled and nodded. He then turned to his lover. "So, this is it. Wish me luck?"

"Always. I will even share all of my life worth of luck to you." Akashi leaned in for a kiss. It was not a long but a sweet memorable one. "Please come back safely."

"I will."

"Good." Then Akashi phone beep. He flipped it open and read the messages. "They said they will come after exam. And Father wishes you the best of luck. He is coming back to Japan tomorrow."

Kuroko smiled. "Please tell your father that I really appreciate it. And also thank Midorima-kun and the others. I wish them good luck for the exam." Akashi nodded and quickly typed.

"Last but not least, here." Kuroko pulled out a velvet envelope from a drawer. "It's your birthday present. Happy 16th Birthday, Seijuro-kun!"

"Thank you. May I open this?"

"You may, but the present is not inside. You have to look for it."

"I have to look for it? Is it some kind of a game?"

"Yes. A birthday present hunting game. Just go to a location mentioned and you will find another clue. Just follow it all the way until the end and you will get your present. A good activity to pass some time, right? Just you know, I'm not going easy on you."

"Tetsuya, I am not leaving the operation room. I am waiting outside until you come out."

"Whether you wait outside or not I will come out safely."

"Tetsuya, I.."

"Please enjoy your present. I worked hard for it." Kuroko pecked his lips. "I love you. And….um…" He hesitated then without looking back, Kuroko said. "Good luck finding it, Seijuro-kun." and then disappeared out of the room.


The operation room sign was on. The Hiroto and Rena were waiting anxiously outside. Akashi felt something wasn't right. He had a feeling Kuroko wanted to say something important.

In the end, Akashi decided to chase all negative thoughts away. He took a deep breath before carefully rip it open. Inside was a single plain paper with Kuroko's hand writing.

'Here I am waiting for you at the very top. Supported by red pillars, I can see the clouds. Looking down I see all small. Care to join me on a date today?'

Akashi managed to crack a small smile. He never thought that the riddle would be an invitation for a date. A date without his beloved that is. Nevertheless, Akashi stood from his seat and excused himself. He started his engine and zoom out to Minato area.


Arriving there, Akashi bought a ticket for special observatory and then went straight up. Reaching on the top, he noted there were not many people, only few couples or tourists. Without wasting more time, he started searching from binoculars to the other. Until the last binoculars, he found none.

Did I get the wrong place? I am sure what he meant is Tokyo Tower. Or maybe I am missing something. Akashi pulled out the previous clue and read it over and over again.

If Tetsuya really is waiting for me here, he wouldn't be waiting while observing the city with binoculars. He would be waiting for me on a bench instead. A bench where he could see a clear view of the city.

Akashi started looking at the benches somehow managed to shove other people out of the way without saying a word. Lucky him, he noticed a same color envelope attached below the bench. He smiled and opened it.

'Congratulation, Seijuro-kun! You are just in time for the date. Let's get some refreshment? I want to have vanilla milkshakes. What about you?'

Akashi frowned. Vanilla milkshakes? Aren't those from Maji Burger? Minato area has at least 3 Maji Burger nearby. If that's the case, the riddle is an easy guess, but the problem is I needed more time to search the next clue. Akashi put the letters in his pocket. Well, might as well start searching.


He started from the west side Maji Burger. He came in like a normal guest and started looking around. Hoping he would notice the envelope lying somewhere. After searching for around 10 minutes, he sighed and moved to the next Maji Burger.

This time he went to the opposite direction, the east side. The restaurant was a bigger and had more people inside. Just like the first one, he just came in and started searching. On few occasions, he needed to ask permission from people to search on their tables. The result was pretty much the same as the first one. He found none. He sighed as he was about to leave but a college part-time girl stopped him.

"Hi, can I help you? You seemed to be looking for something."

"Yes. I am looking for an envelope."

"Oh! You must be Akashi Seijuro. Wait! Come to think of it, How can I not realize this! I saw you on business magazines. Silly me!" she knocked her head lightly. "Hold on for a minute." She then disappeared into staff room.

A few minutes later she came out with the velvet envelope and a burger. She smiled and handed it over. "Here. Your friend told the manager about the game. Happy birthday and good luck!" she winked.

"Thank you. May I know who gave this to your manager?"

"Yes. He is a regular customer with big appetite, tall with dark blue hair and tanned skin. I'm not sure what his name is but my colleagues said he is a famous basket ball player."

"I see. Thank you for your help. If you will excuse me, I need to find the next location."

"Of course! Good luck with the treasure hunting!"

Akashi nodded and went out. I see. Midorima and the others must be involved. They did a good job hiding it from me. He smiled as he opened it.

'Thanks for letting me buy this, Seijuro-kun. As a thank you, I am treating you a burger. I bet you never had any of this, right? By the way, I missed the New Year tradition. Let's do it now! There are lots of things I need to consult'

"I see. Next stop will be Shibuya Meiji Shrine."


Hiroto and Rena Kuroko were sitting outside the operation room. As the clock is ticking away, their faces became more and more worried.

"Dear, It's nearly three hours now. I am getting worried and worse no one is coming out. How can we ask about Tetsuya's condition?"

"I know. I am worried too. But we need to be patient. They are doing their best. Tetsuya is also fighting hard. All we can do is wait and pray."

"But…"

Suddenly, someone wearing dark green clothes and mask came out of the room in a rush. Both of them quickly stood up and approached the man.

"How is he doing? Everything is going ok, right?!"

"Sir, we are still in the process. Please excuse me."

Rena quickly grabbed the man's arm before he fled. "Wait! Please just tell me how my son's condition!"

The man was ready to protest but seeing her desperate eyes, he sighed and said "Ma'am, we are doing everything we can. But now his condition is dropping. Please pray hard for your son and prepare for the worst." And then he left, leaving the Rena sobbed into Hiroto's arm.


Meiji Shrine had a number of visitors in the afternoon. But Akashi followed his instinct or rather he followed what Tetsuya wanted. He queued up and prayed. Then he went to pick a number to get his Omikuji. It was divided into several sections such as love, health, and life. But a single sentence in life section caught his attention

In the dark, the moon shall shine your path.

As long as he could remember, he only had his Omikuji about three times. Most of the time, he only prayed in the temple but he wasn't interested in getting his fortune told. What he believed is that a person fortune can't be based on a paper written by others.

"Young boy, are you perhaps having difficulty interpreting your fortune?" An old lady in the booth asked him. Akashi turned and realized that she was the same person who took out the Omikuji from shelf.

"Yes, I am." He admitted.

"Come. I will help you with that." She smiled.

Akashi gave her as she put on her thick old glasses and read it all. A minute later, she took off the glasses and smiled. "Dear boy, you have a good luck this year. You will find an answer after years."

"Thank you, Obaa-san."

"But be careful." She pointed at the life section, a sentence that caught his attention before. "This can also mean something might happen after you have your resolve."


"Sensei! We are losing him! His blood pressure and heart rate are dropping fast!"

"Give him another injection! Increase the dose!"

After the injection, they waited for the medicine to start working. But the machine showed the numbers kept going down. Sato-sensei turned to him, but the man just shook his head."Maximum dose, Sensei. We can't give him another one."

Sato-Sensei took a deep breath; she took off a part of her mask and crouched down. She whispered "Kuroko-kun, we are doing our best. Don't give up. Fight with everything you got. Everyone is waiting for you. Akashi-kun is waiting for you too."


Akashi found the next clue tied up on a branch. He had no idea how the odd red color can be placed among the whites without anyone paying attention to it. Nevertheless, he took and opened it.

'How's your fortune Seijuro-kun? I hope you got a great luck! By the way, next stop will be our final destination. It is a place where we can see beautiful sunset. But you need to guess where it is. I will share you a clue: When the sun is sleeping, you can see seven colors from afar. From where we will stand, we will see where we were as a different world.'

It took him hours to find the last place. But with the help of smart phone, he was able to narrow down to four places, though they are scattered in different location. He got down from his car and walk up hill. Somehow, he made it in time to see the big red sun.

There was a big old tree on top of a small hill. From up here, he could see the sea with streaks of dark red from the sun; A tranquil peaceful place that located quite far from Tokyo.

A brown wrapping paper inside the trunk caught his eye. He crouched down and took it out. Inside, was another envelope and an old book. The old book showed no title but a name. He decided to read the letter first.

Dear Seijuro-kun,

Congratulation on finding one of my favorite spot and your present! I am sorry that I don't have enough time to make it more interesting and challenging but I do hope you enjoy it.

And there is something I wanted to tell you but I just couldn't find a perfect time. There is a part of my life that you never knew nor did I tell uncle Hiroto or aunt Rena before.

In the past, after I failed all treatments, I locked myself away. I gave up on living. It reached to the point where I wanted to end my life. I was close to jump down from the hospital roof but a certain bubbly persistent guy stopped me. After that, he kept on pestering me, obviously to prevent that from happening again. At first I was really annoyed but honestly I don't remember how, but we somehow became close friend. We shared stories and opinions, though we always argued on topics like life or sacrifice. Mainly, because we saw things in a different way.

But then a month after that, he was gone. I never knew that he had the same disease as me. I guess that because Ogiwara-kun was strong and cheerful. He wouldn't let this disease keep him caged like a bird. He always did what he wanted to do, leaving no regrets in the end. He was a free spirit.

A few days before he passed away, he gave me his journal and asked me to read it. At first I only can understand but I refused to believe that might be true. It was all too fairytale like. But when I met you, everything is complete. You are like the last missing puzzle piece of the whole picture.

Seijuro-kun, I am sorry that I lied to you when I said I will go through this. The truth is, I am also afraid of dying. I am very afraid God won't give me another chance. So, I am asking you a huge favor and I bet you know what I am asking you to do.

If by any chance, I failed this…. Please keep on moving forward with your life. Remember that, you are not alone on this journey. Your family and friends will always be with you. And I will be waiting at the end of the journey to give to a big hug.

Whatever the result might be, always remember that this heart will always belong to you.

Love,

Kuroko Tetsuya.

P.S: Please read the journal. By the time you finished reading it, I hope this feeling will reach you.


A/N: Omikuji is a Japanese fortune-telling paper strips. Usually during new year, Japanese will get it to determined their fortune for the year. If it's bad, they should fold and hang in on a tree branch to chase away the bad luck.

The End…

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Just kidding! XD

As a thank you from this lazy Author, There will be an epilogue from Akashi's POV..

However, before that, I would like to collect your thoughts and opinion. Therefore, I kindly ask you, readers, to share your opinion about this story. You can tell how their story should be from your POV or about other things as well (Any opinions are welcome!) :D

Give me all your thoughts and I will wrap it up into a nice epilogue! (Note: it might take some time)

See you all on the next update!