DISCLAIMER!: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke and the cover image used for the fanfic. Both belong to their respective owners.
If you don't like yaoi (boy x boy) then please don't read this.
Chapter 8 - A Warm Blanket
"Look, look! Kuroko-kun! Those are called 'trees'! Ah and that's a squirrel! Do you see it?" Alex carried a small Kuroko in her arms. At the time he was around 6 years old.
"So pretty… What's that? Alex-san." Kuroko pointed his small finger to a wall which surrounded the garden. Alex gave him a warm smile before telling the child what the object is.
"That's a wall. It was build to protect us.", Alex looked at Kuroko who only showed amazement in his eyes. Even small things such as trees or grass amazed the small boy. To be expected when the boy knew of nothing else other than dark dungeon walls around him, trapping him. Keeping him imprisoned in the Vampire Council headquarters castle.
Alex smiled, yet her smile slowly faded. Looking around their surroundings, Alex didn't have much to see. Withered trees, dark clouds, dark grey brick walls which surrounded the entire castle and the castle walls itself which weren't much different from the fence around it.
Looking back at the small child, Alex's smile came back, yet it saddened her. Why was this child deprived of what most children his age had? Friends, school, playing in the garden and all normal things children his age did.
Alex tightened her hold on the small child in her arms, hugging small Kuroko tightly. Kuroko was surprised by the sudden action but the child decided not to say anything and simply hugged Alex back.
Tears started going down Alex's cheeks as slight sobs escaped her.
"Alex-san? What's wrong?", the small teal haired boy asked but Alex simply continued to hug Kuroko even tighter. The two were in the garden for about 2 minutes before Alex finally could hold in her tears. She rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her cloak as she looked at Kuroko.
"Sorry Kuroko-kun. I don't know what happened. Let's go back to your room ok?", Kuroko looked at Alex whose eyes were closed as she smiled at the small child. Kuroko noticed the skin around her eyes which was red and knew she was crying. Kuroko nodded as Alex turned around to the doors leading inside the castle.
The two walked towards the door as a silhouette appeared at the door, opening it in the process. Alex tensed before the figure revealed himself to be Kagetora. Alex sighted with relief. Thank god it wasn't another Vampire Council member. She would surely be punished for bringing Kuroko outside.
Kuroko was forbidden to even see the outside light. The treason of even bringing him to the outside garden of the castle is deadly.
"Alex! What do you think you're doing! What came into your mind! You know we can be severely punished for this!", Kagetora set foot in the garden as well as he approached both Alex and Kuroko.
"Why so tense Kagetora? We were just taking a small walk in the garden. There's no harm done.", Alex smiled cheekily at Kagetora who was annoyed by her response.
"How can you be so easygoing when it comes to Kuroko? You know we will get punished for this right?" Kagetora closed the distance between himself and Alex before trying to take Kuroko away from Alex's arms.
"Hey! Back off Kagetora! I'm holding Kuroko-kun." With a sight, Alex manoeuvred around Kagetora and continued walking towards the door. Kagetora followed.
Alex finally arrived to Kuroko's room and placed the small boy onto the poor excuse of a bed. Kagetora followed the two and closed the heavy metal doors behind him.
"Thank god we didn't get found out.", Kagetora closed his eyes and leaned on the wall next to the doors. His appearance reflected on the immense pressure he felt of being discovered. Now that the pressure disappeared, Kagetora relaxed a bit.
Alex sighted then put a blanked over small Kuroko.
"Mission success is what I call it! Chill Kagetora. I mean you were the one who gave Kuroko-kun that marble right? Even you broke the rules so don't blame it all on me.", Alex sat on the end of the bed next to Kuroko who sat up and looked at the two with his innocent baby blue eyes.
"Yeah I did but it's not like I took him outside! That's treason!", Kagetora and Alex started one of their many arguments yet again.
"No one found out so we're safe. Right Kuroko-kun?" Alex smiled at the small boy, putting her hand up and waiting for Kuroko to high five her. Kuroko didn't know what to do when Alex stretched out her hand out to him so he struggled on figuring out what he was supposed to do, before Alex saw this and placed Kuroko's small hand on her in the high five motion.
"Yay! See, this is called a high five. You do it when you succeed at something." Alex explains to the small Kuroko who smiled back at her for his new discovery.
Alex suddenly stood up off the bed and kneeled down. Her hand searching for something under the bed.
"What are you doing? W-Wait… I can see your panties. Don't you have any shame!?" Kagetora's cheeks reddened while Alex stood back up and threw herself to sit on the bed again next to Kuroko. She smiled at Kagetora's reaction with a small giggle escaping her lips as well.
"Pervert." Alex said before averting her eyes away from Kagetora, onto a dust covered object in her lap. Kuroko eyed the object with interest before asking Alex what it is.
"This is something I've hidden under your bed Kuroko-kun. It'll be our little secret kay?", Alex put her index finger on her lips while telling Kuroko of her secret. Kuroko gasped in happiness while eyeing the object with great interest.
Alex brushed off the dust, revealing an old looking book. She slowly opened it, revealing the contents to the small child. Kagetora approached the two in confusion, before he face palmed and sighted.
"What else did you hide Alex? Do you have a whole collection under the bed?", the male vampire couldn't be surprised by anything anymore. First, Alex had taken Kuroko outside, which could result in their death sentence, and now… she has hidden a book under his bed. When did she manage to do it? Kagetora wondered as he sat on the bed beside Kuroko. The three of them looked into the book as Alex began reading the story.
"Once upon a time, a child with a very special gift was born. The child would bring prosperity and happiness to the people around it. That's why they called the child a gift from god. However, when the child came into the world, he was immediately taken by the black monsters who wanted nothing more than to imprison the child and slowly feed off of him.", small Kuroko tensed at the sentence, shivering slightly before Alex put a hand on his small shivering hand to comfort him.
Alex smiled at Kuroko then flipped the page to continue.
"The small child suffered day after day, loneliness and fear enveloping him. However, one day the monsters decided to send the small boy away. They took the small boy, put him into a carriage and then rode into an unknown direction.", both Kagetora and Kuroko tilted their heads in confusion before Alex continued.
"The boy finally arrived to his destination as the monsters dragged him inside a small house. Inside the house were many different children of the same age as the small boy. The boy was overjoyed to finally find some friends to play with. However, those other children turned out to be monsters as well who were tasked to protect the small boy.", Alex turned over the page.
"In the beginning, the small boy didn't fit in and was bullied by the other kids in the house. Eventually as time passed by, the boy found five friends whom he could trust. The six of them became inseparable… you could say the bestest of friends. As time passed by, the boy started to develop special feelings towards one person. The boy was confused and didn't know what was happening to him. 'Why does my heart beat so much?' The boy asked himself, but before he could find out, a dark shadow hovered over the boy and…"
Alex stopped when she glanced over to the sleeping Kuroko. His head was on Alex's tights as he immunised himself in the world of dreams.
Alex chuckled as she caressed Kuroko's soft baby blue hair. She glanced over to Kagetora to find out he fell asleep as well. She took the hardcover book and smacked Kagetora's head with it, the latter quickly woke up.
"W-What was that for!", was all Kagetora could say before he was silenced by Alex.
"Shhh… Kuroko-kun is sleeping!" Alex gave Kagetora a glare before the two stoop up, tucked Kuroko into the bed and walked towards the door.
Alex spared one glance on Kuroko before she closed the door.
"I wonder if you'll ever have the chance to make any friends and meet your special person, Kuroko-kun.", Alex smiled slightly but worry and pity was the only certain expression on her face. Alex and Kagetora exited the room and walked down the corridors.
"What was that book anyways? A fairy tale? You could have chosen a better one.", Kagetora yawned along the way.
"It was the closest one I could find to how Kuroko-kun has been living all these years." Alex said while looking at Kagetora.
"Why do you have to find a book like that? Next time bring some happy book which will make him happy, not go shaking like crazy due to fear.", Alex smiled at the comment. She knew that Kagetora has a kind heart. He treats Kuroko like is own son. She can't doubt that. Even she found herself feeling like a mother herself. Even though she already has two kids, she felt the same connection she felt with them with Kuroko. Kuroko is like a third son to her which made her really happy.
"What are you smiling about?" Kagetora asked when he noticed Alex grinning to herself.
"Hey Kagetora, how about we teach Kuroko-kun about love next?", Alex smiled even wider while Kagetora's eyes widened.
"Idiot."
"Why not?"
The two of them continued walking down the hallway, while the small teal haired boy was sleeping soundly in his empty isolated room. The coldness didn't bother him at all because his heart was warmed by the two people he cares for the most.
Kuroko slowly started regaining consciousness. He felt warmth around him, created by the warm blanket he was covered with. The dream he just awoke from was a memory of the past he had spent with Kagetora and Alex when he was young. Somehow the memory made him even warmer on the inside.
Being engulfed in such warmth, Kuroko felt his whole body being heavy. As if telling him to stay in the warmth, not to go out into the cold. As much as he wanted to stay in bed, Kuroko felt the need to get up.
First he tried opening his eyelids, but found it impossible to do so as they were heavy… just like stones on his eyes. Kuroko then tried moving his limbs but they wouldn't move as well. Giving up to his body's needs, Kuroko decided to go back to sleep. Just as the though came, sleep complied and the boy fell asleep.
Kuroko woke up again and this time, his body wasn't so heavy. He slowly opened his eyelids. His eyes were unfocused on a dark silhouette which was seated on the edge of the bed beside him. The figure in front of him placed his hands on Kuroko's stomach before they began to shine.
Kuroko felt more at ease… as if the hands were healing him. No, removing something poisonous inside of him. With each passing minute, Kuroko felt better and better. He blinked twice when finally his eyes focused, revealing the dark figure to be Akashi.
It was Akashi's hands which healed him. Kuroko made the move to sit up but Akashi knowing his intentions, stopped him from doing so, pushing him back onto the bed.
"You need to rest. You're no longer under the control of Mibuchi but you should still take it easy.", Akashi's hands slowly stopped glowing as he set them aside on his lap, but not before placing one of his hands on Kuroko's forehead to check if he has a fever.
Kuroko's body temperature was normal and with that, Akashi relaxed a bit. Kuroko looked around the room which looked similar… it was Akashi's room. Did the redhead take care of him while he was unconscious? Why did he even pass out? and how come he doesn't remember anything?
"Ummm… What happened?", Kuroko asked the redhead.
Akashi ran a hand through his hair before leaning towards Kuroko. Akashi's elbows were on both sides of the teal haired teen, trapping him in Akashi's arms. The redhead smirked seeing Kuroko's confusion. He ran his finger across Kuroko's jaw before answering.
"You were a naughty boy Tetsuya. Following someone you don't even know. Didn't your parents teach you not to follow strangers?", Akashi's finger stopped at Kuroko's chin while he explored those teal blue eyes.
"I have no parents Akashi-kun.", Akashi stopped his advances and gazed into Kuroko's blue eyes. Then with a slightly saddened expression, Akashi backed away into his sitting position on the edge of the bed.
"My apologies. You may come in. He's awake." Akashi called out to the door as it slowly opened, revealing a running blonde heading for the bed. Just when the blonde was about to jump on the bed and hug Kuroko, he was stopped by a tanned hand which grabbed the collar of the blonde's shirt.
"Awww! Aominecchi! Not fair! I wanna hug Kurokocchi!", Kise struggled in Aomine's hold but gave up, knowing he cannot match his strength. "So annoying… Tetsu needs rest!", with that Aomine let go of Kise who fell onto the floor.
"Says the person who sneaked into Kurokocchi's room every night! Waaa! He must have done some perverted things to my Kurokocchi!" Kise is sitting down on the floor while yelling at Aomine.
"That's only because I was guarding him against you! You're the pervert here!" Aomine countered.
"I-I was guarding Kurokocchi too! Against the tooth fairy! Maybe one of his teeth fell during the incident and the fairy would come for him! I was protecting him!", Aomine face palmed listening to Kise's ridiculous excuse.
"There's no such thing as a tooth fairy you idiot! Even if there was one, she wouldn't take him away! Just the tooth and Tetsu would even get a coin for it so it's a good thing!"
"But tooth fairies are scary! That's why I protected him! Aominecchi you're so mean!"
"Daiki! Ryouta! OUT! RIGHT NOW!", with the argument of the two no longer being bearable, Akashi had his say in the matter making both Aomine and Kise shiver. The two immediately took their leave out of the room as the remaining occupants of the room stayed; Akashi, Kuroko, Midorima and Murasakibara. Aomine and Kise got out, closed the door and stood outside of it.
"They exist…" said Kise.
"No they don't…" and Aomine replied.
Back in the room Midorima sighted and gave a relieved look to Akashi, thanking him for relieving them on the annoyance. Midorima adjusted his glasses before approaching Kuroko's bed and sitting on the other side of it from where Akashi was already seated. Midorima placed his hand on Kuroko's forehead as his hand began to glow.
"Your condition seems stable. All thanks to Akashi's power. You should be able to get out of the bed today." Midorima's hand stopped glowing as he took it off Kuroko's forehead.
"Akashi-kun's power?" Kuroko tilted his head in confusion.
"Yes. You see I have two abilities. One is to see into the future and the other is to negate the abilities of other vampires, rendering them powerless.", Akashi informed Kuroko.
"Those two abilities have helped us many times in the past. It's unheard for a vampire to have two abilities at once and that is precisely why Akashi is one of the most feared vampires in the country." Midorima added.
"Hmmm~ That's normal~ since it's Akachin." the third occupant of the room, Murasakibara, added.
"I see. How long have I been asleep?", Kuroko leaned back onto the bed.
"A week. Mibuchi's ability is not a weak one thus it took you longer to recover. We've been protecting you all this time so there is nothing to worry about. Although, I am quite puzzled as to why they haven't made their move yet… Any ideas Akashi?", Midorima placed his right hand on his chin, thinking things through.
"They might be waiting for a moment of weakness or they already have something planned and are just waiting for the right opportunity. Either way there is nothing to worry about. Someone of their caliber cannot hurt or defeat me." Akashi crossed his arms and smirked as if his victory is already assured.
A week… Kuroko has been asleep for a whole week! He didn't realise it before but the fatigue from days before must have also caught up with him. Being the isolated one and the only one who didn't fit made Kuroko quite on edge for most of the time. Eyes of the vampires were on him at all times… who would feel comfortable with that? Kuroko was exhausted not only by the accident but also by his daily routines he had to undergo.
The teal haired teen sighted and leaned onto the bed even more. Somehow with the presence of the miracles, Kuroko felt safe. Even safer then at the Vampire Council headquarters. Why would he feel this way? It puzzled Kuroko, but still he acknowledged the feeling and slowly started closing his eyes with relief. He feels… safe.
"Since the Uncrowned Kings have made their declaration of war against us… we should take precaution. We will tighten up our security as well be more wary of things around us. For now we will stay in the dorm. We'll take a day off from classes. Shintarou, inform the professors of our absence.", Akashi stood up and gave his command.
"Right away.", Midorima stood up as well and headed for the doors. The door opened, revealing Aomine and Kise standing behind it listening in on the conversation. The two gasped when they caught the sight of Akashi.
"They were really worried about you." Akashi closed his eyes standing beside Kuroko, facing Aomine and Kise who stood at the doors.
"Looks like you have some friends now… Tetsuya.", Akashi opened his eyes and made his way towards the door. With a nod from Akashi, both Aomine and Kise entered the room running towards Kuroko, hugging him.
"Ne~ Kurochin~ Do you want some candy? It's good to it eat when you're sick~" Murasakibara took a candy bar from his pile of junk food which he is holding in his hands and handed it to Kuroko. Kuroko examined it with his eyes, opened it and just before he was about to take his first bite, he was stopped by Aomine.
"What the hell Murasakibara! When you're sick you eat things like soup. Not chocolate or junk food.", Aomine took the candy from Kuroko and ate it himself.
"Ah! Aominechi! You ate it!"
"Of course dumbass! I ate it for Tetsu. It's for his sake."
"Ehh~ But you eat chocolate when you're sick~ Ice cream too~"
"Not in this case!", the three began to argue in seconds but Kuroko didn't mind. Instead he was sitting on the bed finding himself being in the center of the argument. He didn't mind and it made him happy that someone would argue about what's best for him to eat. Somehow it made Kuroko happy as he smiled a bit while listening to the conversation.
Akashi looked back at the sight and smiled a bit as well when he saw Kuroko. The redhead then closed the door behind him and then leaned on it. His smile soon disappeared as it was replaced with a serious one. There are still matters which concerned Akashi but for now he would focus on the enemy before him and that is the Uncrowned Kings.
Author's note
HELLO MY BEAUTIFUL READERS! I'm sooooooo sorry for the VERY VERY VERY LATE update. I have this very important exam in November which will basically determine my future. It's REALLY important for me. I also started writing 2 new fanfics apart from this one so I'm currently working on 3 fanfics at the same time! (I have an idea for a 4th one... SO MANY IDEAS BUT SO LITTLE MOTIVATION AND TIME). But for now I will postpone everything until my exams end in November. I hope you guys understand.
So I might update before November BUT when I have time so I can't promise any specific dates or times. I might also write the 1st chapter for a new fanfic so that the idea doesn't go away. Who knows...
Again, I'm SOOOO sorry for leaving you guys behind. Hopefully I will come back fully after November so until then I won't update much. I will when I have time. If you have any questions whatsoever about the story or anything then just ask me. I'll answer anything.
Thank you and please review! I need to know your thoughts (I'm not sure how this chapter turned out so please give me some feedback). Also, THANK YOU SO MUCh for all the favourites and follows! I really wasn't expecting to get this much. THANK YOU! It means a lot to me. Also a big THANK YOU to those that did review. Especially to Guest users. I would love to reply back to you but I can't. Never the less I read your reviews and take everything aboard. THANK YOU!