Lovely Jewels
Key Stealing
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Kuroko made decent pace as he neared the room where the group had met last night. He did not believe that he was late, though he was not too keen on being extremely early either. His mind was nowhere near its normal organized state. He was filled with trifled feelings regarding what was wrong with Akashi and his current mission. He paused as he stood before the door, his hand stopping in midair. Did I do something to hurt him?
"Are you going in, Tetsuya?"
Kuroko flinched at the sound of the voice, but quickly recollected himself before turning to face Akashi. He caught the heterochromatic gaze with slight ease and tried to read into his expression, but nothing really seemed out of the ordinary. "Yes, Akashi-san. Sorry, today I am a bit distracted."
Akashi frowned and clucked his tongue, reaching forward to open the door himself. "That won't do, Tetsuya. You need to be in top condition for this mission."
Kuroko nodded and entered the room after Akashi. He stared at the back of Akashi's head, slightly confused by the redhead's statement. Kuroko berated himself from expecting Akashi to say something more…intimate.
The pair moved to sit down next to the rest of the Kiseki no Sedai, watching as Satsuki's father brought out an item wrapped in light blue cloth. Midorima made note of how Akashi and Kuroko sat apart. He decided that he would ask Akashi about it at another time.
The elder fully peeled away the cloth to reveal a small, gleaming dagger. The hilt of the dagger was gold and a small handle curved off the base before returning to the bottom of the hilt. The blade was around seven inches long and shone as if it was brand new, but the aura it gave off told a different story. The guardians' eyes visibly widened.
Kuroko eyed the dagger before addressing the elder, "It feels…familiar."
The old man smiled, his eyes' wrinkles crinkling at the corners. "I'm glad it does. It's a weapon time travelers of this family have used in the past." His smile faltered after his statement. "Traveling back in time is not the safest situation. Should you run into trouble, combine your powers with the dagger to unleash an attack," he informed Kuroko, seriousness evident in both his eyes and tone of voice.
One of the servants quickly went to the elder and carefully picked up the dagger. He presented it to Kuroko, who gingerly took the blade into his own hands. Kuroko nodded his acknowledgement and the servant made himself scarce for the time being. The light-blue head laid the covered dagger at his side before returning his attention to the elder.
"The time at which you will be returning to will be the night of when the key was hidden," Satsuki's father informed. "That was quite awhile ago, but the layout of the estate has not changed much. You will most likely end up in the garden, but you should be able to find your way to the mansion with relative ease."
Kuroko nodded his head, refusing to blink, sure that he would miss information if he even let one sense lax for a moment. "The Kiseki no Sedai," Kuroko started, causing the said group to turn his attention to him. "I am thinking that I must avoid them."
Akashi stared at Kuroko from the corner of his eyes before flitting his gaze back to the elder. Hmm, the redhead thought as his mind mulled over that period of time. Then…the time traveler would have been from the Kuroko family.
"Yes," Satsuki's father answered with little pause. He gave a wry smile to Kuroko. "It would be troublesome for the ceremony if another time traveler was known to be present."
"The ceremony to seal the key?" Kuroko inquired.
The elder nodded his head gently. He slowly leaned forward and rose to his feet. The servants in the room began to stir and one went to the door, preparing to open it for his master. "Now I will leave you to discuss other matters with the guardians. Be at peace for this room will be protected while you are gone and until the moment you return." With that being said, the old man gracefully exited the room along with the servants.
The sliding door closed almost silently. Kuroko turned to look at the others, already ready to travel through time, but he was sure they were worried. He hoped he would not be stopped from going by them or even by himself.
"Tetsuya," Akashi finally called out, breaking the silence in the room.
Kuroko moved his gaze to meet Akashi's. He internally struggled with the fact that he could not look into Akashi's eyes and see what he was thinking. It was like Akashi was purposely shutting him out.
"You should be aware that we will not be traveling with you," Akashi stated while gesturing to the others. "We will stay here and guard this room."
Kise had been twiddling his thumbs incessantly, glancing up every now and then to look at Kuroko. Kuroko eyed the blonde from his peripheral vision, making a guess at to what the other was thinking about. He stood up and walked to Kise, causing the others to question his actions.
Kise stopped twiddling his thumbs and looked up at Kuroko who stood over him with puzzlement evident in his expression. "Kuro-"
"I understand," Kuroko interrupted while gently patting Kise on the top of his head.
Aomine found the scene to be more than amusing and had to cover his mouth with his hand to hide his snickering. Kuroko's face and Kise's shocked expression proved to be too much for him.
"E-Eh, K-Kurokocchi?" Kise stammered out.
"I will be fine," Kuroko continued, acting as if he had done nothing and heard nothing from the blonde. "I feel…connected to you guys."
Midorima looked away to hide a small blush upon hearing this and Kise turned bright red at Kuroko's blatant words. Akashi arched a brow while Murasakibara pulled out a small box of Pocky sticks. Kise glanced bewilderedly at Aomine who showed a slightly happy expression.
Midorima coughed to regain attention to the matter at hand. "Of course you would, we have been around long enough for you to form that connection."
Kuroko looked at Midorima and lifted his hand from Kise's head. "I guess so," Kuroko replied.
Midorima stood up and pulled something from his pocket to give to Kuroko. Kuroko instinctively held out his hand, turning to face the greenhead. Into his palm dropped a sphere-shaped pill that seemed to glow with its own faint, white light.
"This pill will enhance your powers so that when you travel back in time, you will be able to telepathically speak to us," Midorima explained. He watched Kuroko eye the pill in slight wonder. "If you run into any trouble, we will do what we can to help you."
Kuroko looked at the pill, analyzing its shape and size before popping it in his mouth and swallowing it. He felt it slide down his esophagus, but could not feel a peak in his powers. "Thank you, Midorima-san," Kuroko said while bowing his head slightly. "I will leave now."
Kise jumped up and threw his arms around Kuroko. "Kurokoochi! Come back safe and sound okay?" The blonde rubbed his face in Kuroko's hair before being abruptly pulled away.
"Tch, don't injure Tetsu before he has to leave, idiot," Aomine said in a gruff voice. He looked marginally shocked when Kise turned and grabbed onto him instead. "Oi, what are you doing?"
Kise just gave Aomine a fleeting look of worry before burying his face in the bluehead's chest. Aomine gave out a sigh before gently placing a hand atop the mess of golden locks against him. The other members gave the pair a sideways glance before returning their attention to Kuroko.
"Ah, I should be going then," Kuroko started, moving towards the center of the room where he had left the dagger. He bent down and picked up the bundle of cloth before slipping it into his yukata. Knowing that eyes were on him, he dropped to his knees and began to concentrate on the flows of time, invisible to everyone else, that tingled in the air around him.
Akashi's eyes flashed red briefly and with a slight motion of his hand, he and the other members moved to form a protective circle around him. Kuroko's eyes were closed, his brows furrowed in deep concentration. The floor began to fall away beneath him in his mind; the room began to melt away to reveal a dark nothingness. He could still feel the strong presences of the Kiseki no Sedai as they surrounded him. Faint time periods danced in his mind, and his fingertips tingled with the sensation of being able to feel them. He searched for the right one, his eyes moving rapidly behind his lids.
Watching tensely, Akashi barely flinched when a burst of wind shot out from Kuroko. It was hardly a second later before the light and Kuroko disappeared. The wind caressed the hair of the Kiseki no Sedai one last time before finally settling down in the room. Akashi closed his eyes and slowly sat down.
The air became eerily quiet around Kuroko as he opened his eyes. Bushes and tall grass met his sight. Looking around, Kuroko warily observed his surroundings and gazed up. The sky was dark with night and stars unabashedly speckled across it. Crickets sang their songs, but other than that, there was no other sound. Standing up, Kuroko spotted the mansion not too far off. He began walking towards it carefully, watching to see if anyone was nearby. The guardians had warned him that running into their past selves would cause a disruption in the current relationship between the guardians and the time traveler of that era.
Kuroko made it to the edge of the patio and pulled himself on. Lamps hanging off of the walls lighted the outside of the building. He could faintly hear the chatter of voices somewhere far off, but at this point Kuroko did not know what to do. Where is the key? Does someone have it?
Suddenly, Kuroko felt a sharp pulse within his chest. His fist was quick to grasp the front of his yukata as he bent slightly in pain. Through squinted eyes he looked around before darting behind a corner into another hallway. The hallway was dimly lit and he walked down carefully before slipping into an empty room. His breathing became labored and his head began to pound incessantly.
Kuroko?
Kuroko blinked a couple of times and looked around the room, searching for the source of the voice.
Kurokocchi! Can you hear us?
Shut up Kise! You're too loud!
Kuroko's head began to clear slightly as he realized that he recognized these voices. It felt as though they were inside his own mind, and to test out this theory he thought tentatively, Hello?
Ah! He can hear us! Kise started excitedly.
Kuroko let a small smile grace his face.
Tetsuya, are you having any difficulty? Akashi asked, restraining the worry in his voice.
I don't know who has the key, Kuroko admitted. He heard a sigh from within his thoughts and was unsure about whether or not it was his or one of his guardians.
One of the servants has it, Midorima stated. We aren't sure which one, but tonight is the ceremony, so if you listen, you'll be able to pinpoint who has it.
Kuroko nodded his head, aware that the others couldn't see his action. Okay, I'll try, thank you.
The sharp pain that Kuroko had felt before had fully disappeared. He poked his head out the doorway and looked both ways to see that the coast was clear. He slipped out and traversed further into the building. It wasn't too long before he chanced upon a group of servants gossiping loudly.
"Eh? So you have the key? You're going to seal it? Such honor," a female voice cooed.
"Ahaha, yeah, I guess so," a male voice replied.
"The nobles might just not want to sacrifice their own if something goes wrong," another voice, male, wistfully added. "So you better be careful, Kaiba."
Kuroko carefully singled out the man named, "Kaiba." He had short brown hair and a relatively plain face. Nothing about him seemed to be out of the ordinary, other than the fact that he was the key keeper. He watched as Kaiba bade his friends goodbye and deftly began following him through the shadows in the hallway. Kuroko hid behind a corner and focused on quieting his breath, but once he peeked around, Kaiba was gone. Kuroko's eyes slightly widened as his eyes darted back and forth. He pushed off from the wall and lightly stepped down the hallway, wondering where the guy had went.
"Midorimacchi! I swear I didn't take it!"
Kuroko froze. That sounded like -
"Today's the day where it was prophesied we would not get along together," another voice started. "I should have heeded it."
Kuroko edged backwards, trying not to attract the attention of his younger-versioned guardians. He crept out of sight just before Midorima appeared in the hallway. Midorima looked around, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"Eh? What are you doing, Midorimacchi?" Kise asked as he joined his friend. Kise looked down the darkened hallway as well, his amber eyes darkening a shade.
Both Kise and Midorima strode down the hallway. Kise pushed forward and turned the corner sharply, meeting nothing but an equally, dark, empty hallway. He let out a sigh and pushed back his bangs.
Turning cheekily to the greenhead, he teased, "Midorimacchi~, are you paranoid?"
Midorima looked away and pushed up his glasses. "Shut up, idiot."
Kuroko was still trying to calm his nerves as he ventured away from the pair, hearing shouts of "Mou! You're a meanie, Midorimacchi!" fade away in the huge expanse of the house. He silently wondered who the other charge was during this era. Could it be from my family? Or maybe it's Momoi's.
It's yours.
Kuroko blinked and shook his head. The feeling of others talking to him through his own mind was still something he had to get used to. Thank you, Akashi-san.
Kuroko felt lost as he traversed through the maze that was the Momoi mansion. There were endless hallways leading to room after room, more often than not the rooms were empty. They all looked the same too. He should have spent more time venturing in the mansion before he went back. The light-blue head silently berated himself for losing sight of Kaiba. He had to be near the place where the ceremony would occur. Kuroko paused for a moment and placed his hand on the wall. His fingertips pressed gently on the surface of the thin material. He understood that he could travel through time, but could he read the history of an object if he focused on it?
Kuroko evened his breath out and slowed it even more than normal. In his mind blue light shot from his fingertips and into the wall, tracing the entire building and lighting it up. The background faded away and Kuroko was left in a digital looking world, staring at a mass of blue lines that replaced the frame of the mansion. The new world was quiet except for a soft buzz. Instinctively, he reached out and touched a line. It rippled and a pulse ran through Kuroko's body. He winced slightly before being filled with glances of the mansion's memory. He forced himself to concentrate and saw himself in the mansion. Looking around he found Kaiba walking in another part of the mansion. Quickly committing the image of the bird's eye view of the mansion layout in his mind, Kuroko violently shuddered before dropping out of the other world.
Kuroko found himself on the floor; his body was weak and shaky. Worry set in as he fought to push himself up. Hopefully nobody would chance upon him right now. His vision wavered, but he remembered the path that he must take in order to reach Kaiba and the key.
Yo, Testu! What happened? Aomine asked quickly.
Kuroko started walking towards where Kaiba would be. I'm not too sure Aomine-kun, but I know where to go now. Don't worry.
Aomine-kun? Kuroko could hear the edge in Akashi's voice.
He blocked out the rest of his guardians' chatter as he rushed through the hallways. He wasn't sure what time the ceremony would begin, but he needed to get to the key beforehand. Kuroko flinched when he noticed that the shadows around him were uncharacteristically wavering. Wait, no it can't be…
"Ah see! Look, my shadows are sensing something!"
Kuroko wanted to loudly sigh, but what else could he have expected? He focused on lowering his presence even more than it was now. His ears kept listening to see if another guardian was with Aomine.
"Ne, Mine-chin, stop getting distracted," Murasakibara mumbled. "We were going to pull a prank on Aka-chin, remember."
"Tch, of course, but do you really think that this is a good idea?" Aomine asked, his voice sounding both bored and cautious. "Akashi will kill us."
Kuroko had already rerouted his path to get to Kaiba. A small smile was on his face. Of course the guardians would still be mischievous. As Kuroko slipped away once again, he began wondering about his ancestor. Was he or she close to Akashi?
Kuroko stiffened and straightened up when he heard footsteps approaching. Based on his mind map, Kaiba should be right around the corner. Moving himself right next to the corner, Kuroko prepared himself for being run into. Kaiba sharply rounded the corner and let out a small yelp of surprise as he ran into something. He looked down to see a small, light-blue headed boy. His face quickly went from annoyance to surprise.
"Ah, Kuroko-sama! I'm sorry, I didn't see you!" Kaiba quickly bent down and helped Kuroko up.
While Kaiba was fussing over him, Kuroko quickly reached out and stole the key from inside Kaiba's yukata. Thankfully, Kaiba didn't seem to notice anything and after helping Kuroko up he quickly bowed his head and left. Kuroko watched him leave and wondered if this "Kuroko-sama" looked like him.
Midorima-san, I have the key, Kuroko said in his mind as he began leaving the hallway, wondering where he should go next. It would be bad if he got caught now.
The elders want you to hide it in a different place. The daughter from the Momoi family during that generation has a special place in the garden, Midorima stated.
Back outside? Kuroko asked.
Yes, the sakura tree on the center island, Midorima answered.
Kuroko turned from his current path and hurried down a smaller hallway. His body was less tired, but it still affected his gait. He was so absorbed in getting out of the mansion that he failed to notice the fact that there were magical markings on the wall. Kuroko immediately ran into an invisible barrier and fell backwards, letting out an almost silent grunt. Looking up Kuroko was met with a wall of glowing white markings. It didn't take long for Kuroko to realize that he was in a trap.
Kuroko shook his head, half panicking, half trying to find a way out. All around him the barrier stood and suddenly it began flashing. His eyes widened when he heard footsteps rapidly approaching his position.
"Akashi-sama, someone's been caught in the trap!"
Kuroko felt sweat begin to form at his temples. He had no idea how the Akashi of this era would react to him. He inched towards the wall on the farther side and glimpsed the backyard. He was so close.
"Oh, what do we have here?"
Kuroko froze at the familiar voice.
Omake 1
You're My Favorite Snack
"Where are you going, Murasakibara?" Midorima asked, looking up from a crossword that he had been solving. He watched as Murasakibara placed more snacks into his depthless pockets. "Murasakibara?"
Murasakibara finally took notice of his fellow guardian and momentarily paused his snack hording. He looked at Midorima before replying, "I'm going to see Muro-chin."
"That human?" Midorima scoffed. "Don't get too attached to him."
Murasakibara rolled his eyes and muttered, "You have that other human, Mido-chin. No fair." He stuffed his hands into his pocket and waltzed lazily to the door. "Besides, Muro-chin is my favorite snack."
Omake 2
Precious Memories?
"Okay, got it Kurokocchi?" Kise asked excitedly. He was holding Kuroko's hand with gleaming eyes. "Please~ Kurokocchi?"
Kuroko looked doubtful. "I don't know, Kise-kun. Won't Akashi-san be mad?"
Just as Kuroko asked his question, Akashi appeared at the doorway of their room.
"Ryouta, Tetsuya, what are you two going on about?" Akashi asked, his eyes slightly narrowed.
Kise looked hopefully at Kuroko.
"No! Stay away Akashi-san!" Kuroko cried out pretty convincingly.
Kise held in his snickers while bolting from the room only to run into Midorima who was already glaring at the poor blonde.
Akashi looked shocked for a moment before slowly approaching Kuroko. When Kuroko flinched and tried to move away, Akashi's hand shot out and grabbed Kuroko's wrist. He pulled the slightly smaller male to his chest and tightly wrapped his arms around him. Akashi buried his head into the crook of Kuroko's neck.
"Come back to me," Akashi murmured sadly. "I will never hurt you."
Kuroko's eyes softened. Of course Akashi would be worried. He didn't understand why his actions would cause such a reaction from Akashi though. "Akashi-san, it was a joke."
Akashi only pulled Kuroko tighter into his embrace.
Omake 3
Competition
"Mine is way longer than yours, Aomineicchi!" Kise said defiantly. He pouted and looked down.
Aomine rolled his eyes. "Idiot, you can obviously tell mine is much longer than yours. See this?" Aomine started, gesturing at his. "This is a good inch longer than yours."
Kise's eyes narrowed as he glared at his partner. "Well, I think mine is wider."
Aomine looked incredulous. "They're the same width! What are you talking about?"
"You're holding yours weird, that's why it looks longer!" Kise quickly accused.
"Hey, I'm always on top, that's why mine is longer," Aomine jeered back.
Kise angrily threw down his straw, fake tears gathering in his eyes. "This is why I hate drawing straws!"
Aomine could only laugh at his adorable blonde's overreaction.
Okay, I will honestly understand if many or all of you are pretty...dissatisfied with me right now... I'm really, really sorry, for such a late update. I mean extremely late. I never gave up writing this one little chapter though, and this story has always been in the back of my mind. Thank you everyone for the continued support even with my long absence. It truly means a lot that you guys are still willing to support my story and me. I don't want to make any promises that I will end up breaking, so please continue to offer your support as we trek through finishing this story together. *bows head* Thank you everyone so much!
I also want to apologize for this extremely boring chapter. I'm really sorry for my writing style as well. It might take me some time to get back to writing creatively since this past year has been non-stop argumentative, synthesis/DBQs, and analysis essays. I tried to add AkaKuro fluff in the omakes since it was really lacking...
Soooooo, my most personal thanks to the people who favorited, followed, reviewed and my lovely silent readers:
AokazuSei - Ahhh, thank you so much for telling me! I was really confused when I was writing it and the research I was doing confused me even more. O_o I changed it right when I read your review!
BashyBunny - Thank you! I'm still trying to cope with the loss now, haha! No no! I smiled so obviously you're doing something right! Thank you for the review!
Aiko Namikara - No no no, no need to apologize! I'm just extremely happy you decided to leave me a review! Thank you!
KurokoTetsuya101 - You're welcome and here is the very...very belated next update!
Shiro-chan1827 - I'm very happy that you love the story! Ah, yeah...haha poor Akashi, but he will triumph in the end! XD
Guest - Thank you! I'm glad you think my story is amazing!
Tennu - *tearfully and joyfully eats the 3 cookies* I know, I'm sorry! Thank you so much for the support!
Yami-The Lord of Darkness - ...I mean...this isn't very soon so I deeply apologize...but thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Airka Yumeko - Wow! Maybe that has changed within the past year but that really makes my heart go dokidoki to hear you say that! Thank you!
Swtazngrl5 - Don't worry! AkaKuro will definitely happen! Thank you for the support!
M - Waaahhh! *blushes* Thank you so much! I'll do my best!
mirror-bluemoon - Thank you, I'm really glad my story interests you so! Between Akashi and Momoka, the feeling is more protective than anything else. And then for the rest...shhhhhh, haha! It's like you know my plot! XD Thank you for the support!
ShioriErz - I'm happy that you think my story is interesting! Thank you for the review!
koichii - Akashi will definitely get Tetsuya to come around! Thank you for taking the time to drop a review!
Alice Eraser - Yay! I'm glad you think my story is awesome! Thanks for the support!
Knight Yuuki - Thank you for the compliments! Ano, I don't really have an answer to your question sorry! _ My idea is mostly Assassin Creed based... I'm really sorry, but thank you for your support!
Amatsu Kurosaki - Hahaha, go you! As long as I don't get your phone taken away then I'm happy! Thank you for the support!
miki-chi - Wahhh...and then I leave another cliffy...but heeey, thank you for the review!
KamisoraInazumi-chan - Hahah, thank you for the review! Yes, fluff between AkaKuro is a must...next chapter then!
allanimefreak73754 - Yosh! It shall be done! I tried to sneak that in for you! Haha, thank you for the support!
Again, I am forever thankful! Though quick question, would you guys prefer me to thank reviewers personally or publicly as I am doing now? Or rather, does it not matter to you guys? I want a format that most of you guys like and are comfortable with. I never noticed how many reviews I got until I thanked them this chapter...I am absolutely giddy! Please leave a review, your thoughts, complaints/crit even! Ah and I hoped you all enjoyed Omake 3! *winks* 'Til next time!