Chapter 4
After standing there for who knew how long trying to process what was happening Kuroko was surprised when Kise's arms came around him in an embrace. Instinctive fear surged up at such an invasion of personal space and before his mind was aware, he was struggling to get away. The fear rose and he was about to descend into a full blown panic attack when he felt Kise's soothing presence on the edges of his mind. He stilled slowly, and prodded the link in his mind. The new tender link of intertwining golden brown threads in his mind was overwhelming. It felt as if it was part of him and it wasn't at the same time.
Kuroko could also feel the echoes of foreign feelings that he slowly realized were Kise's emotions. The overwhelming feeling of being able to finally breathe pulsed through his mind.
The feeling of completeness and bonding of a soul link was the most beautiful thing he had ever felt and he realized the - awe, happiness, gratefulness, oh my god, oh my god- were Kise's feelings echoing in tandem with his.
They were not aware that they had missed two periods of class until they heard students noisily rushing to class. Their minds were so occupied by the new and raw emotional connection of their links that they were completely oblivious to the passage of time.
Reluctantly they had to let go of each other when the soul bond in their minds started to settle into a less raw state.
Kuroko glanced up at Kise sitting next to him and blushed when he realized that he was leaning flushed against Kise's side and Kise had an arm looped around his waist. He tried to back away and stammer out a response when Kise looked at him and chuckled wryly,
"We might as well skip all the classes today, Kurokocchi. There's only one period left."
He picked up Kuroko's wrist cover and clipped it on again. When Kuroko noticed Kise's silence, he realized that Kise was staring at his wrist cover with a hint of lurking emotion in his eyes.
The feeling of rejection rose up in him again and he started to reprimand himself for being so gullible. How could he just believe that Kise, an amazing Superior would ever want him? A broken Inferior trapped in his own doomed existence.
Kuroko ignored that sting of rejection and resignation and softly stated, "I'm sorry...you probably don't deserve this Kise-kun."
Sharp eyes flickered up and met his, still with that hint of indiscernible emotion in his eyes.
"Don't deserve what, Kurokocchi? Don't deserve you?! Don't deserve my soul bond to you?"
Turning his head away in shame, Kuroko could only mutter a hoarse sounding "Yes..."
He didn't want to turn around and see the evidence of his flaws in Kise's eyes.
"I-I am an Inferior, Kise-kun. By the laws of our society, I have no rights of my own and I will always be a second-class human. Why...w-why would you..?!"
He shook his head minutely as his voice trembled, "Why would you want to bond with someone who will only burden you? If...if anybody found out that I was bonded...to a Superior. To-to you! You would be...!"
He trembled when he felt a light touch on his cheek, afraid of being punished again for his heritage. Instead, the voice that answered him was not full of anger or accusation but full of aching pain.
"It doesn't matter what society thinks. You are my soul bonded and I would not abandon you to the filthy wolves of this world."
Kuroko's head snapped around in shock as he took in the fierce determination in Kise's eyes and it finally hit him then. The lingering indiscernible emotion in Kise's eyes was rage. It was not rage at him, but at the unjust laws that labelled people as either Inferior or Superior and how the world could keep turning a blind eye away from the discrimination, abuse and exploitation of people like him.
It was anger for him. The predatory gaze and hatred burning in those eyes should have intimidated him but it felt surprisingly comforting for some odd reason.
"Don't worry, Kurokocchi. You're ours now. No one will separate us."
Kuroko felt tension drain out of his limbs until he registered what Kise said.
"Kise-kun...What do you mean by 'ours'?", his voice trailed off and his eyes widened.
"Wait. You know who the others are?"
Kuroko's words were a reverent whisper that brought a fond smile to Kise's face.
"Yes. Of course."
"We should go meet them as soon as possible..."
"No. We should go meet them today Kurokocchi!", Kise's smile and excitement was contagious, and he couldn't help but agree, because he was eager to meet them too.
Kuroko gave a tiny nod and a shy smile towards Kise as he was led towards the student council's private rooms.
Kuroko arrived at the student council's private rooms and was floored by the vast size and accommodations it had. In a corner a massive library was situated with a few couches and comfy beanbags, next to the library a hallway could be seen leading into private rooms where he could see that they were already occupied by 5 name plates. To his right led towards a massive area where he could see glimpses of a modern fully decked professional kitchen and an eyeful of the recreational room situated on the left.
It was practically one big apartment. One VERY big and expensive apartment and he realized that the private place was even bigger than his own measly home fit for three people.
He raced to catch up with Kise when he noticed that he was still standing at the entrance. And promptly ran head first into a wall.
Unceremoniously dumped on his bottom, he looked up to see what he had bumped into and was met with the sight of a towering...person.
The person bent down and crouched in front of him whilst Kuroko quickly stammered out an apology for the accident. Kuroko's apology was met with silence from the giant's stare and he was about to do something really awkward or stupid like demand an answer when the giant spoke.
"It's ok, little one. I didn't even feel it."
Kuroko's thoughts were a jumbled mess from indignant protests against the use of the word "little one" and the implication that his size was too small to hurt.
Kuroko did not know what came over him but his irritation of being addressed as 'little' grew and he all but bluntly exclaimed, "I'm not little! And my name is Kuroko Tetsuya. It isn't polite to call people small, you know?! Even if I am small I am by no means a weak person."
This fierce declaration was met with a silent stare once again until a bright and quirky smile lit up the giant's face.
It made his features transform from a neutrally blank and dull mask to something young and boyish, but in no ways innocent.
His previously dulled eyes lost their neutral vapid stare and sparkled with curiosity and muted laughter. It was then that he realized the true face of this giant.
His face was truly expressive and it was nothing but an open book. The unique accented colour of the deep violet of his hair made his face look even younger. At the same time, his body exuded nothing but tightly coiled strength and his eyes were dark deep pools of indigo shining with intelligence and insight.
The giant held out a packet as a peace offering and Kuroko tentatively reached inside. He came up with a medium sized cookie topped with vanilla chips, and promptly shoved the whole thing into his mouth.
He was about to moan in delight at the flavour of the vanilla but blushed furiously when he noted that the giant was staring at him with a small smile on his face.
"Nice to meet you, Kuro-chin. My name is Murasakibara Atsushi."
Kuroko was planning to ask more about the giant when he saw Kise heading towards them at a brisk pace. He saw Kise's posture instantly relax when his roaming eyes found them on the floor.
"Murasakicchi, you're early today", Kise stated as leaned on Murasakibara's side and ran a hand through the dark violet strands.
"Kise-chin wasn't in class after lunch today. What happened?", Murasakibara inquired with a small tilt of his head towards Kise.
Kise was fully aware that the others might have felt the phantom sensation of a bonding but he knew that this was also Atsushi's implicit way of asking him about his approach towards the current situation.
Kise smiled at his violet-haired bond mate and whispered,
"This is Kurokocchi. He will be with us from now on."
Murasakibara's face was carefully blank throughout the whole exchange but Kise could still see the delight those words evoked in his eyes.
Murasakibara slowly reached out a hand towards Kuroko to help him up.
Kuroko stared at the hand in wary confusion until it dawned on him that Murasakibara wanted to help him up. So shyly he slipped his hand in Murasakibara's large engulfing ones, and nearly toppled over again from the force of a bond link slamming into his mind. If it was not for the large arm that gently wrapped around his shoulders he would have concussed himself from his undignified fall to the ground.
The sensation of a second link forming on the same day as the first made his mind reel from the rawness of it. At the same time, he would not have traded being bonded for anything else in the world. Curling up to the giant warmth of his new bond mate, he sat there enjoying the feel of a melding of two totally different minds and hazy with the feeling of two presences in his head. They felt like beacons in his mind but they also felt reassuringly solid and constant.
Kuroko was not aware of drifting off to sleep nestled comfortably between his two bond mates. He was only aware of the hovering warm presences of Kise and Murasakibara in his mind, the fleeting gentle touches of hands on his hair and a kiss on his forehead when he fell into an exhausted sleep.
