Lost Christmas

Chapter 2 — No Escape

Kuroko found himself surrounded by darkness, every corner was whispering to him, humming a soft tune that sent chills down his spine. Darkness tried to reach out for him, but he managed to scramble onto his feet and ran. He couldn't see where he was going, everything was black and a void to him. Adrenalin pumped rapidly through his nerves, urging for him to keep going despite he had no direction whatsoever, but the thought of a mess of black fog engulfing him was terrifying and gave him a burst of energy to escape.

He found an invisible knob within the darkness. Without thinking much about what was on the other side, he yanked the door opened and sprinted out into the blinding light. Behind him, the door slammed shut, fading under the sun. Kuroko bent down, hands on his knees as he sucked in sweet, delicious air only to cough it out. The air was too thick and corrupted, it burned his lungs that he wished he was paying attention to where he was. Smoke.

It took him a moment of recognition, he wasn't out in the daylight of the glorious sun, he was in the night of flames. Everything from buildings to people were burning. Kuroko nearly threw up at their faces, empty eyes stared back at his. The smell only made things worst as he covered his mouth. Garbage bins were overturned, spraying a stray line of dirt and rubbish across the streets and only added to the fuel. Houses and shop-lots looked like they were more than a thousand years old, moles and cracks visible on either side of the buildings, trampled over and broken.

He quickly ran away from the bodies, but a tug from his leg made him froze. He reluctantly turned around and saw the dead were approaching him, crawling on their hands like ants, madness and hunger in their eyes. He shoved the hand away before making his escape, but everywhere he ran seemed endless and it was frustrating to see so many dead. A massacre had certainly happened in Chronos. All the while, burning hot flames and the stench of death kept him companied.

He slowed down when the scenery changed. Instead of darkness or crimson flames, he was now in a monochrome place, a bed-field of monochrome flowers. The stench of blood was gone, replaced by the strong serene smell of irises that radiated elegance and beauty. His hands were starting sweat. He wiped his palms over his shirt, but apparently the wetness was stubborn, constantly leaking out liquid. He brought his hands up.

Sapphire orbs widened in horror. A puddle of blood swirled on his palms, seeping through his fingers as a drop of blood fell onto a iris, drowning it into different shades…

Kuroko woke up in a shivering mess. He didn't cried out nor scream, he just opened his eyes, fear dancing in his mind. He sat up, basking in the moonlight that shone through the curtains of the doubled-glass doors that led to the balcony.

The nightmares were getting worst by the night. Before his sixtieth birthday, usually it was about fire, the intoxicating flames that consumed him from time to time as his memories continued to rekindle, but as they slowly surface, they were slowly slipping into red. He brought up his fingertips, recalling back the images of blood running through them, screaming for him. Was he loosing his mind? The day of his birthday was celebrated a day earlier due to his grandparents' tight schedule, but everything worked out just fine. Until his nightmares were flipped into a balance between fire and blood when the second hand of his wall clock stroke midnight; the beginning of his birthdate.

After dropping off her brother at Teiko High, Yukikaze drove her way to Teiko University. Clothed in a tank top, jeans, boots and an unzipped jacket, she left her long teal hair untied. Slinging her backpack over her shoulders, she strode through the crowd naturally, already aware of the crowd's eyes on her.

"You're as showy as ever."

Yukikaze turned to meet Ogiwara Shigehiro. "And you're a loudmouth as ever." With his bright orange and highlights, she wondered how much more attention could the guy get. He was grinning like a fool as usual, nothing different from that. Her eyes visibly narrowed at him, he was taller and seemed to have grown more. She was getting shorter and because of that she was getting less authoritative and further more, she didn't like it one bit. A common trait of her family to be shorter than everyone. She wondered how did her brother survived in America, foreigners were worst.

"Idiot," she murmured, before going to her locker.

"Wait, what was that supposed to mean?" Ogiwara ran to catch up on her. Fortunately for him, his locker was only two lockers away from hers, so they had a high chance of meeting each other. She was sorting out a locker with exchanging of books and reports, looking annoyed for some reason. He unlocked his locker and began the same action. "I heard that your brother is in town."

Yukikaze's glare seemed to intensify and turned to look at him. "He actually told you?"

He shrugged. "Somewhat half of it. Well, Mom told us the actual details. So, you want security. How long has he been sixteen?"

"Since he turned sixteen."

He rolled his eyes. "Please, quit with the jokes."

Just as both of them were finished, she slammed her locker shut and went ahead. "January 31st."

He poked his head out beside her, raising an eyebrow. "That long? It's been months. How did he last that long?"

They reached their classroom moments later. She dropped her bag and sat down while Ogiwara sat beside her. "Believe me, I bet my grandparents would do better than you."

"Is that a challenge?

"Who knows. Doesn't matter who wins. Just make sure your intentions are real."

"So, we're screwed if we fail?"

Yukikaze studied her nails and plainly answered, "Don't worry. I'll just have your head as my room decoration."

"What?!" He flinched away. You demon!

Ignoring her companion's uneasiness, she let out a small smirk.

During classes for Kuroko, everything was normal for him. It took less time in Chronos than America for the student body to understand his lack of presence and 'smart-ass' brain, but sooner or later, he made friends with the classes as he transferred from one to another. Each time saying goodbye to each other or simply walked side by side to their next class. The teachers were kind enough to help him catch up, even though he was already answering all the questions presented. It was thanks to his life in America where the standards were higher, so Chronos was more like an easy equation to solve.

Though PE wasn't an option when he had nearly got run over by rough soccer players. Sports have always been his weakness because of his fragile body. Basketball was okay, if he could put it that way. He was able to pass around, but when he tried to shoot, the ball was mean to him and kept bouncing off the hoop no matter how many times he tried. Nonetheless, he was planning of putting basketball as his curricular sport.

"Don't you think they're stunning?" Okazaki Rino asked, her voice laced with adornment.

"Who's they?" Kuroko asked, looking around the circle of friends that weight around him.

Okazaki Takeshi puffed up his chest proudly, gesturing to himself with a hand. "Allow me, Kuroko-chan! Since Kuroko-chan just came in for his first day, let me explain! What Rino is referring to is the Generation of Miracles, regulars of Teiko High's Basketball Club, also known as athletics models to Chronos. There're pretty monstrous in basketball and took the championship for three consecutive years in middle school, and frankly speaking, they're gonna blow everything away in High School.

"First off is Midorima Shintarou, the guy with the green hair is Teiko's top three-pointer who doesn't misses even once, like—never. The guy's mad, he's obsess with fate and destiny and I'll ask you to stay away from him, he's weird and definitely ask for your horoscope sigh. Another thing is, he brings all these stuffs to school often, so don't be surprise if he's holding something girly or a knife. Well, he brought that one time, saying it was his lucky item for the day."

Rino whacked her twin brother on the head. "Nii-san, you're being rude. Shin-sama is…special!"

Takeshi covered his head. "I thought you only like that pretty-face blonde idiot?" he retorted back, earning another smack to his shin. As the two bickered like idiots, Kuroko eyes went to the back of the class. Accidentally, ruby eyes met his cerulean ones as they locked onto each other, mesmerized by the other's appreciation.

"Kuroko-kun?" It startled him and made him jump, returning back his attention to Rino's grin. "Could you be interested in Akashi Seijuurou?" Kuroko turned away, avoiding her gaze. She sat back onto her chair. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised. All the girls in school are locked onto the captain of Teiko. Apparently, he's the only bishounen who's single. The others are all dating, except one delinquent. But trust me, there's no use approaching him. He always gives off that kinda aura that tells you you're not worthy of his. He's like an antisocial genius who ace all the tests and despite his size, stands taller than anyone."

"And a know-it-all," Takeshi added. Kuroko gave him a doubtful look. Takeshi held up his hands. "It's not like I'm trolling him. See, the guy acts all high and mighty. Think he's over his head or something." The others murmured in agreement and started up their own conversation, leaving Kuroko to ponder more about the redhead.

After homeroom and morning classes ended for him, he had a free period before lunch, so he decided to spend his time in the school's library. Theory speaking, Chronos limited supplied of books amazed him. With only books that famous authors wrote, he wouldn't mind skipping class and barricade himself in the library for weeks. From romance to mysteries, fantasies to actions, and some outgoing non-fictional books, he couldn't wait to get started.

As Kuroko reached for one book, he collided with another hand.

A strong impulse shot through his nerves. His mind fogged up. He could feel he was swaying, he landed onto an ice cold slab of ice. Every part of him froze, the chill finally took over his body. He was loosing his senses the longer the grip was on him. A pleasurable sensation that he felt in the pit of his stomach. He felt like he was burning, the temperature erupted off the charts. What was this feeling? The moment everything freeze over was the time it heat up.

Kill.

The voice in his head chanted the same word over and over again and it drove him insane. His vision was blinded in red as he looked at the stranger shakily. It shocked him how gorgeous and electrifying could the stranger be, blazing red hair and ruby eyes. The memories went out of control, shifting to one scene after another that replayed every time it ended, as if it wouldn't allow his torture to end.

"Are you alright?"

Kuroko's mind immediately cleared up, the voice still chorusing at the back of his mind. He managed a smile. "Sorry. Just out of it awhile ago." He pushed himself off the hard-chest he was leaning on, rubbing his shoulders uncomfortably from the cold.

"I see," the other replied, ruby eyes centring over Kuroko with great concentration. "You must be tired. Do you want me to accompany you to the nurse's office?"

Kuroko shook his head. "No, it's fine. Thank you for the offer anyway, Akashi-san." He bowed and left.

"Wait." Kuroko stopped, turning around to give him a questioning look. "How did you know my name?"

Kuroko smiled. "My friends told me about you. You're the captain of the basketball team, right?"

Akashi gave a sharp nod. For a moment, Kuroko could have sworn he saw disbelief flashed into his eyes, but dismissed it. Akashi made an attempt to leave first, patting Kuroko on the shoulder. "Nice to meet you, Kuroko-kun."

Akari: School is reopening soon and I'm dreading the day. This fiction is going to be a short one, so most of my ideas are going to be in the new one. Contains fluff and cuteness overload, you have been warned.

Reazthie - Yandere? Well, if you think so, but I never pic her as that. She's just an overprotective sister. Antagonist? Who do you think it is?