Sorry this took so long, I've been really distracted with like everything and haven't been able to focus (thanks school) but here we go and it ended up a lot longer than I originally thought, thank you Midorima and Takao. I'm a bit out of practice with writing anything really shippy or cute so wow I apologize, but I'd like to thank everyone's nice comments so far. Looking forward to the next installment! ~Xar
The dragon roared, shaking some loose rocks from the ceiling as the three rather screwed adventurers stood up again slowly. Its eyes were glowing a sickly green like the smoke that surrounded it, and now that it had landed, Kagami could see the nasty scythe-like claws that were gouging out the rock.
First things first, though. Riko was already scrambling up, a furious look on her face, and Kagami turned around and ran for his partner. "Kuroko, you idiot! You okay?"
The mage just stared up at him as he accepted Kagami's entire arm dragging him upward. A few hand gestures communicated that his partner should be paying attention to the dragon that is slowly but steadily advancing on them. "I know, but you can't use any magic! I can't just let you sit here like a dead log!"
Kuroko rolled his eyes and kicked him towards the dragon, pointing to his mouth and waving his hands. Kagami had no idea what the guy was saying, but it was clear he wanted the tank to go fight the dragon. "Yeah but-"
The white mage sent him the deadliest glare he had ever seen those blue eyes make, and Kagami just gulped and nodded. Maybe he had a plan for being so insistent, so he just left him there and pulled his sword out again. If he doesn't, I'm gonna kick his sorry ass off of this bridge.
It was almost too late before he noticed Riko was doing something odd. Hanamiya hadn't moved, willing to let the dragon do all of his work, but their guild master seemed to be also in the middle of….summoning something?
"Riko what the-"Kagami didn't get to finish before the ground rumbled under his feet again, nearly knocking him over.
"You're so clever, Hanamiya, getting a giant lizard to do your dirty work. Actually it's kind of inspiring, you see? Thanks for the idea, I would've NEVER THOUGHT OF THIS EARLIER!" She yelled, and the necromancer's eyes finally widened.
Too late. The stone had already cracked behind her as she pounded both of her fists into the ground, cascading her power behind her into the stone. Riko's eyes lit up as all of a sudden, a medium sized stone dragon burst itself from the wall behind them, showering the bridge with a spray of pebbles. "Kagami! Get on that dragon and go fight! I'll take care of Hanamiya!"
He wanted nothing more than to stand there and stare at all the shit that was happening, but there was no time. He had to protect Kuroko from the dragon like Hanamiya told him he couldn't and take it down. He growled suddenly, leaping with an inhuman strength up onto the dragon's neck as its stone wings took off, barreling it towards the giant zombie.
"FUCK OFF, YOU LOSER!" Kagami yelled, his voice roaring in his own ears and he steered the golem until it was right above the zombie dragon and dive-bombed it. Rock clashed against rotting flesh, and his dragon's teeth scrambled for purchase. Kagami ignored it all, releasing his magic into sword as he ran up its neck. Scales emerged as shapeless, foul bodies, but he just blocked them and kicked them off, swinging his giant blade down into the zombie's neck and drawing a huge red line up to its eye. The zombie dragon shrieked, having long since lifted off from the bridge, and shook its head around wildly. Kagami was clinging to his still embedded sword for dear life, a few scales coming off and slicing his arms. Seeing a flash of stone beneath him, the tank pried his sword out and, not waiting for the zombie to steady itself, leaped off the side.
He only fell for a few seconds before the golem crashed into his body, cutting him off short. Ignoring the pain of the sudden landing, Kagami just crawled upward and steered the dragon off past the bridge into the dark hall beyond. The zombie dragon was following them, shooting off bursts of green fire that they just barely dodged. Each time a blast hit the side of the tomb, another shower of rocks fell down, and Kagami had a near death experience as a statue collapsed, barely missing him.
That gave him an idea, and he instructed the golem to fly near the sides, where a few untouched statues were remaining. Blazing by one, Kagami reached out with his sword and channeled his energy to slice cleanly through the supporting pillars, causing the giant structure to start collapsing. As the zombie dragon came spiraling after him, it cascaded straight into the zombie dragon's flank with a giant crash, causing the creature to spiral downwards, screaming.
He knew that wouldn't be the end of it, but he still commanded the golem to fly back to the bridge. Riko seemed to be holding her own with Hanamiya, dodging his dark green bolts with the agility of a Bel'ua ranger. Every so often there was a cracking sound and different elements would shoot out of her fists as she jolted suddenly forward, trading blows with him.
Hanamiya was doing a good job, but anyone could tell that he wasn't an expert on frontal combat like Riko was. Kagami briefly entertained the idea that Kiyoshi was the one who trained her, but then she leaped backwards as an explosion knocked the necromancer back. Zombies were emerging from the stones where some of the green magic hit, but the equally green whirlwind and a few splash potions were more than enough to deal with them.
Kagami had no more time to be impressed by his guild leader when the zombie dragon suddenly returned from the depths of the abyss to bite down on the golem's leg, tipping him over the side. The golem let out its own unearthly wail, and Kagami felt like doing the same as he found himself falling again.
He fell for much longer before catching onto the zombie dragon's tail with what seemed like sheer luck, as it slammed right into his stomach. Kagami had no time to breathe, and no time to think as he flew over where they had started from. He let go, crashing down onto the hard stone, along with bits and pieces of the disassembled golem.
He was sure his life would've flashed before his eyes if his brain and lungs were working, but at he lay there, he could feel his ribcage collapsing in on itself. Kuroko wasn't there to help, so he had to get up again, but he couldn't. It felt like every bone in his body was broken. The zombie dragon screamed, billowing out at the rest of the golem. Pieces of it were still raining down around him, and he got shielded from most of the blast.
Get up, you need to get up! Kagami angrily thought to himself. How would he be able to face his brother if he heard that the tank had gotten taken down by a mere giant dragon? He pried out a potion with his partially numb fingers and downed it in one go, ignoring the slight nausea it gave him. As life flowed back into his limbs, Kagami spun his sword around in the ready position. Normally an ordinary swordsman would've dropped it by now, but his teacher had made him go through rigorous (and deadly) events to prevent him from ever willingly dropping sword in combat.
Unfortunately, that amounted to nothing if he couldn't get up to the dragon, since there was no more golem dragon. Riko was still fighting off Hanamiya, but he had backed up a considerable amount, and both of them had minor wounds all over their bodies. The guild leader was moving faster than humanly possible, probably thanks to a haste potion, but Hanamiya was giving it as good as he was worth. And now that the dragon was settled down on the other side of the bridge, he smirked.
"Looks like you really couldn't handle it after all. I would love to break you all myself, but I think I'll let my pet do it," the necromancer sneered. "Your little monkeys aren't worth my own attention after all."
Riko landed on the ground in a crouch, swinging one of her gloves around to slice apart a zombie, only to have her throat caught in Hanamiya's grip. "The best way to break dear Kiyoshi, I think, is to have his lady and two newest recruits meet a horrible end at his expense. What do you think?"
She choked, not being able to form an answer, her feet dangling in the air. Kagami let out a yell and tried to go forward, but there were undead blocking the way, and the dragon behind about to lunge down. Shit, it can't end like this! I have to do something!
Even releasing his aura might only be able to let him knock down Hanamiya, but all that would do would get them both killed by the dragon afterwards. And even if he went after the dragon, there was still its summoner to deal with. He wasn't the thinking type, and there was nothing the three of-
Wait, where was Kuroko?
"Hanamiya-san, you really shouldn't be so arrogant." Somehow, and Kagami didn't know how, Kuroko's voice carried across the sudden silence of the fight.
All of them looked up to the staircases they had come down from, only to see a small white figure standing at the top of the wall. The air was charged around him, forming glowing circles and runes around his figure. Kuroko's blue eyes were glowing with an unearthly light, and his staff seemed to be floating above his head threateningly.
"But…" Hanamiya stared in shock, along with Kagami.
"You certainly didn't think that silence spell would last forever? Hanamiya-san underestimates his opponents." Kuroko finished speaking and raised his hand. Kagami didn't know what to brace himself for, since he'd never seen his partner do anything like this, not even before.
Riko took the moment to flip out a blade from the tip of her shoe and stab Hanamiya in the leg, causing him to yell and release her. She fell to the ground, coughing a bit, before giving him a roundhouse kick that had the necromancer staggering back. "Kuroko, do whatever you were going to NOW!"
There was a snap in the air and arcs of white light shot out of the circles surrounding the white mage. Kagami couldn't blink and in that moment, he could clearly see a pair of ethereal wings soaring from Kuroko's back, but the zombie dragon roaring forced him to turn around. The beams of magic, just like before, curved around in the air before they converged on the giant dragon, spearing through its wings and chest. It screamed, pinned against what was left of the back wall as the white light disintegrated it. Kagami rushed forward at another command of Riko's.
"Give it the final blow Kagami!" She yelled, and he was about to ask HOW, when all of a sudden, the pieces of the stone dragon from earlier started shaking and levitating into place, forming a pseudo-walkway up to the dragon's head. Kuroko had spun his staff around so it was now in his hands and released a giant wave of white light that disintegrated anything it touched as Kagami activated his aura and ran up the floating pathway.
Zombies were falling off left and right, Kagami's feet were sure and swift as they hit the rocks in fearsome jumps, the red light streaming from him as he raised his sword above his head, letting out a roar as he brought it down. The blade, eager for blood, sank deep into the dragon's skull as it let out a final scream. The sword dragged him downward until he hit the bridge solidly, the dragon dissolving to ashes above him, bringing even more of the wall down.
The silence after that was almost anticlimactic in way, covered up by Kagami's harsh breathing and a faint dripping sound somewhere. He turned around only to see Riko kick the necromancer bastard between the legs before knocking him out, and Kuroko nearly falling off the stairs trying to get down.
"Oi, what was that, you loser?" Kagami called brazenly, thundering down the bridge until he-eventually-got to the other side. Kuroko's wings were gone, making him wonder if it really was just a part of his imagination, but he stopped short as the mage nearly stumbled over.
"Well, I was waiting for the right moment, Kagami-kun. A flying target is hard to hit," he said, as if it made perfect sense, which unfortunately, it did.
"That's not what I fucking care about, I thought you'd be silenced! And then you disappear just to blow up a giant dragon! How the hell did you do that?!" Kagami shouted, waving his hands around wildly.
Kuroko stared at him for a moment, having found his feet. "Is Kagami-kun angry I used holy magic? I thought he knew that I could use it from before."
"Yes! No. I mean, I don't know! But a warning would be nice. And maybe some more help next time!" Sure, he was a bit angry that Kuroko had just let him get pounded into the ground by a giant death dragon before taking it out in nearly one shot, but he'd at least gotten the final blow at the end.
Kuroko looked unperturbed by his attitude completely. "I'm sorry then. With someone like Hanamiya, it was better that my attack come as a surprise so he wouldn't be able to attack it. Besides, Aida-san had slipped me a Remedy before this entire deal had started. I was in no danger."
He really didn't know if he expected anything different. Maybe he really was overreacting and coming off of his energy high from being so close to death at least three times. "Fine, okay, it was impressive. Happy? But I would appreciate not being flung facedown into rock next time."
"A tank is a thankless job," was Kuroko's only reply which did not help his random irritation. Could they just get out of here? It was stuffy and there were rotting bodies EVERYWHERE.
"If you two idiots are done flirting, we have a disgusting piece of trash to remove over here!" Riko suddenly yelled, shocking them both into a standing position and running over to her.
"Riko. Are you alright?" Kagami asked her awkwardly. She was bleeding like himself, but nothing seemed too bad.
"Yes, yes, shut up about that. This shit," Riko spat, nudging Hanamiya's now unconscious body with her foot, "needs to be taken out of here. I've got a few questions about him."
"As do I," Kuroko said, causing them both to look over in confusion. "He said he under contract to come after us. I want to know who it was. Plus, he might have information about where Kise-kun is."
"How the hell do you think that?"
A small pair of shoulders shrugged. "Just a hunch."
"But…the question is how to get out of here," Riko said, putting her hands on her hips and looking around. "That fight with the dragon collapsed the two visible exits from here, and just going deeper into the tomb is gonna just get us trapped."
Kagami looked down at the necromancer's prone body, seeing something odd inside his coat. Figuring he didn't really give a shit about this guy since he attacked his guild and tried to kill Kuroko, Kagami started shuffling around in his pockets to find anything interesting.
He found some money, which he pocketed, some shiny looking stones-which he also pocketed-a knife, three potions, and the piece of paper from before. Riko seemed distracted with something else, so Kagami fingered the letter open, scanning its contents.
"Are you shitting me?!" Kagami suddenly yelled, startling his two companions.
"What. What is it?" Riko asked, snatching the paper out of his hands. "Why didn't I think of that? It's much better than questioning this sleaze ball!"
However it only took her a few seconds of staring at the paper for her to have the exact same reaction. "This can't be?"
Kuroko, the only one out of the loop, had the most banal look of confusion on his face possible. "What?"
"It's a contract for you, Kuroko," Kagami blurted out, feeling like the mage wouldn't be satisfied with a sugar-coated explanation. "Someone paid him money to kill you, and then go after blondie in some place named Kaijou next."
"Kise-kun too? And they knew where he was?" Kuroko's eyes actually widened in surprise and not for the first time, in unnerved the hell out of Kagami.
"Is that the only thing you got from this? They want you dead too!" The tank shouted.
Kuroko looked him coldly in the eyes. "I was aware people wanted me dead from the moment they burned down my home and killed my mother. However, now I know this contractor is targeting the members of Kiseki. That is much more important information."
Riko and Kagami could only stare at him with that revelation and lack of self-preservation. Part of him wanted to back down, but he wasn't the one to let Kuroko sink back into the self-pity pool he sometimes seemed fond of. "That's nice and all, but you can't help them dead!"
The white mage simply let out a puff of air from his mouth. "I apologize for phrasing that wrong, Kagami-kun, to make you worry. I'm merely concerned that someone seems to be targeting my friends as well. Besides, I have Kagami-kun here with me to keep me safe."
He was still amazed to this day the effect Kuroko's words always had on his face, the way it heated up and he simply turned into a sputtering maniac whenever the blue-haired boy said or did something remotely nice.
"I wasn't worried," he mumbled, his cheeks hot with embarrassment.
"Ugh, you two are just weird. It doesn't say who the contractor is, but I'm fairly certain it's someone in the royal house because only they would have access to this type of paper," Riko said, interrupting (thankfully) their sappy moment. "And that would make sense, considering their discrimination of holy mages…sorry, Kuroko-kun. I wish this didn't have to happen to you."
"It's okay," was all he said, looking passively at the paper.
"So…are we gonna go to Kaijou then? Or like…." Kagami gestured at the tomb around them. There still seemed to be no way out, and all the information in the world would mean nothing if they couldn't escape to the surface. Besides, he was concerned about the growing rumbling sound echoing down the giant hall.
"Yeah, we should-"Riko got no further before the rumbling caught up to them and the ground started shaking. It was like when the zombie dragon had appeared, only this time it didn't go away. Kagami stumbled, automatically grabbing onto his partner and pulling him to his side, away from chunks of pebbles showering down.
"What the hell is going on?" Kagami shouted over the shaking.
"Tomb is collapsing! I think Hanamiya re-animating that dragon triggered some sort of safety measure. We need to get out of here!" Riko yelled back, starting to run off in the direction they came from. The ceiling was crashing in around them and it was hard to walk in a straight line, but they got off the bridge before it collapsed underneath them.
"Dammit! If only I still had my flying golem!" Riko was saying. They were trapped. Looking up at the staircase, it had already been destroyed by a practical avalanche of boulders. "Shit, shit, shit!"
"I'm sorry, I'm all out of magic," Kuroko panted, the strain clearly showing on his face from running and shooting off freaking beams everywhere.
"Isn't there anything we can do?!" Kagami asked desperately. It seemed unfair they would be trapped here underneath rubble after they were so much closer to their goal. It was undignified and the thought of death made him panic.
"Shhh!" Riko held up a hand. The rocks that had made up the golem beforehand were trembling too, but the cause was not the minor earthquake. In a few seconds they all flew towards the spot where Riko was standing to form a tiny half open cave of protection. "Well, I'd say I have a plan, but this is really all I've got…"
Kagami didn't really know whether to feel better or not, but now large chunks of the ceiling were coming down and it was all he could do to not run around in panic. Instead, he grabbed Riko and Kuroko, holding them close as they were pressed up against the cold rock. If he really had to go, then he sure as hell wasn't letting anyone else go with him.
Wouldn't that be a fitting way to prove Hanamiya wrong? I'll die like a tank over your corpse. Kuroko was wiggling underneath him and his voice was trying to say something, but the crashing sound of rocks falling drowned him out. There were pebbles pelting his back, but he didn't really care. The alternative was much, much worse.
Kagami couldn't even see anymore, any sign of light being blotted out by the tomb being destroyed around them. Kuroko was struggling, Riko was struggling, but his hands held them tight, as tightly as his eyes closed against his skin. He certainly didn't want his last sight to be the betrayed look on his partner's face as he did the one thing he always yelled at Kuroko for doing-
He didn't know whether it was his imagination that he heard a swooping sound, but he didn't remember anything after that.
It turned out that swooping sound was something Kagami had never wanted to see again.
Well, at least he discovered that when he woke up aching and surprisingly NOT dead-at least he was assuming-and found himself staring at a slightly familiar ceiling. Kagami couldn't help but groan as he moved his body about an inch to the right, because everything felt like he really had been crushed under a temple.
Both legs, still there. Both arms, definitely there. Head was questionable, but Kagami could see and hear so there was that, at least. For instance, he could see the rafters holding up this temples high loft, the long-since-broken metal chandelier that used to be pretty and Kuroko's worried face that was ENTIRELY TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT-
"Kagami-kun!" Was all that was said before Kagami mashed his head against the mage's, resulting in a headache and a yelp of pain from both of them.
"Goddammit, Kuroko! You really need to wear a bell or something!" The tank yelled in surprise. Kuroko's face was somehow blank through the whole ordeal, had it not been for the tiny tears of pain in the corner of his eyes.
"This is the second time this has happened to me, Kagami-kun. I expect for you to take responsibility," was all he got in response. Kagami scowled, and now that he'd moved suddenly, his body caught up and started feeling all fuzzy again. Peering over himself, he seemed to be okay, minus his armor and a few lingering bandages.
"This…this isn't the tomb. This is that rabbit guy's house!" Kagami said, ignoring his partner's wise-cracks. With that jolt to his heart, the cogs in his brain were working too and reality was finally kicking in. "Wait a minute, I'm really confused. I can remember being in the tomb and then running, but how the hell did we end up all the way here?"
Sadly for him, the rabbit guy had heard his last few sentences when he gracefully as ever entered the small room. "Unfortunately, you seemed to have lived from your ordeal. I was hoping this was the case, but some rabbit guy just happened to be in the vicinity and hear the chaos you were inevitably causing."
Midorima. Just his fucking luck. Kuroko had stood up in between them, possibly to stop more bodily harm from happening, but Kagami was too tired to start something. "What? I'm not lying, you look like a damn green rabbit! Besides, I'm supposed to believe you just accidentally found us buried in a tomb you told us to go to?"
He didn't quite expect to see Midorima's face turn that many shades of red, or hear a faint echoing laughter from somewhere inside the god-forsaken temple, but it certainly made Kagami feel better.
"I did not! I merely told you useful information about a man who makes a mockery out of life and magic, and just so happened to be hunting in the same area! You are lucky I was there to drag all three of you out of the way before the entire place came down on your heads." Midorima finished up his rant with a spectacular nudge of his glasses, and turned around in a huff, his ears twitching angrily.
"Thank you Midorima-kun. For everything," Kuroko said softly in the silence that followed and Midorima paused again, his demeanor frozen in place. Kagami looked between the two of them-he'd always gotten the impression the two were similar but didn't get along, or was he making things up?
"The Water-bearer is unluckiest today. A Crab is to lend a helping hand to friends in need. It's only logical," The Bel'ua said before leaving for good. Apparently he couldn't say anything straightforward.
"Dammit, does he ever make any sense?" Kagami growled loudly, the archer's words just making his headache worse.
"That's his way of saying you're welcome. He's very bad at expressing concern, so it's okay," Kuroko said, having turned back to and knelt beside him. "He saved all our lives, Kagami-kun."
Kagami just made an indignant noise and laid down to curl up, effectively shutting him off from everything else. "Fine then. Wake me up when we're ready to go find blondie. I just need another one of these idiots in my life."
Kuroko let off the lightest smile, before patting Kagami on the head and telling him to rest awhile longer. They were safe, no one was going anywhere, and he was left alone in the silent, tiny room. Maybe this blonde guy will be better than Midorima, he thought to himself, though Kagami really didn't want to get his hopes up. The way Kuroko talked about them made them feel like a bunch of nutjobs.
He fell asleep again, resigned to his fate.
Kuroko was only too happy to find out it had been Midorima all along to rescue them from what seemed to be the pits of hell. Hanamiya's body seemed to have vanish, Riko was angry, but he assured his new leader the necromancer was unlikely to try something ever again to Seirin after beating on of his most powerful creations.
As Kagami slept his injuries away, he told Riko under no uncertain terms what he planned to do next. She wasn't happy, with them being new recruits in need of training, but after Kuroko promised to come directly back after finding Kise-kun, she eventually agreed.
"You two are pains in the ass, you know that? Ever since you arrived in the guild it's been nothing but chaos," She grumbled, downing the tea Takao had made for them. (Kuroko was thankful for that, since the last time his Bel'ua friend had tried to cook, several buildings were caught on fire and a new alchemic poison was discovered all in one night.)
"I apologize," Kuroko said with a polite dip to his head, "but I'm happy Seirin is so welcoming to someone like me."
Riko had a smile tugging on her lips, even if she didn't let it show fully. "I guess I can let you do your thing as a thank you for helping Teppei and me out with that bastard. Do your thing with Kise there, but you better be prepared for twice the training when you two get back, got it?"
He could only feel a warmth in his chest as he nodded.
Midorima was glad for the quiet that suddenly permeated his temple after all the rabble had left. It was strange entertaining guests after such a long time of just him and Takao, to the point where he almost missed the echoing voices and obnoxious laughter.
Almost.
And he knew that only counted in games of horseshoes and ranking second in horoscopes. He should be glad they are gone, really. Midorima closed his eyes, letting out a frustrated breath. It had been almost two long years since he'd left Teiko and thought of Kuroko as dead. It had taken a toll on all of them, and though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even himself, part of him wished that he had survived somehow and was managing to live happily ever after.
His time of self-imposed banishment, he supposed, had just made him lonely enough to actually contemplate embarrassing things. In his own quiet mind, he at least could mull over it, but then Kuroko had come crashing back into his life, dragging along a loud obnoxious 'light' with him.
Midorima suddenly felt a light prickle on his hair, fingers worming their way through the fur of his ears. His eyes closed for a moment, enjoying the sensation, before he realized what was happening and elbowed Takao in the stomach.
"Ow! Shin-chan, no one's around anymore! Am I not allowed to act all lovey-dovey anymore?!" Takao whined with fake tears in his voice. The Bel'ua knew it would take a lot more than that to upset the man and just left it as that.
"How many times have I told you not to disturb me when I was thinking?" He said curtly, earning himself a reproachful look.
"You always have that serious look on your face so I never know when you're 'thinking', as you so put it. I want attention Shin-chan. You're ignoring meeeee…." Takao decided this now was a good time to crawl his way onto Midorima's shoulders and not let go. He just accepted his fate.
"You thinking about your friends again?" Takao whispered suddenly, his voice dropping a note lower. "It's okay if you are, you know."
Midorima's ears twitched, first one way, and the other, but gentle fingers calmed down their restless motion. It continued that way for a little while until Midorima finally relaxed, letting Takao slide him closer.
"I'm not worried about them. Kuroko least of all." He could still put up a fight, even when it was his partner.
"Sure you aren't, Shin-chan. That's why you fussed over him and made sure he had his lucky keychain and everything, and told him to call you if he needed help," Takao said, and goddammit, he could feel the smirk even if it was behind him. The fingers continued to stroke his his ears, occasionally a thumb gliding up the delicate skin.
"Takao stop. That's not gonna…you're misconstruing my intentions. It's only because we are former guild members. I didn't tell him to call me for help, and I certainly don't want him to after last time!" Midorima said, even if he was slowly melting from Takao's ministrations.
He remembered. He remembered when Takao discovered (with glee) that Midorima secretly liked being petted on his ears and that it calmed him down. He also remembered the countless nights when he would have nightmares about that darkness and the pirate would lay in bed next to him, stroking his ears and back until he finally fell asleep. Ever since the man had almost literally swept him off his feet, he honestly couldn't remember a day without him there.
It was odd, and he was annoyed at first, but since Takao was stuck there in isolation with him, he'd learned to live with it. Takao was fighting with him, Takao followed him on his various hunts, and Takao listened to him as he rambled on about what the stars said his fate was today. And somehow, it only became natural that Takao was always there. He couldn't comprehend the gunner not being a part of his life now, and Midorima didn't know if it scared him or not.
Perhaps that was why Kuroko worried him and not Takao. He was sure his partner was feeling jealous from all the attention spent, but Kuroko, their fragile and stubborn teammate had come back from the dead. Takao had never left, nor was Midorima planning to ever let him go. Always there, always faithful. He couldn't understand sometimes, how much faith Takao put in him. Perhaps their isolation really had done things to their brains.
"…Shin-chan?" Midorima realized Takao had been talking the whole time he'd drifted away in his thoughts and the fingers had stopped.
"I'm getting tired. We should sleep," Midorima said, removing his glasses and causing most of his vision to go blurry. Takao let out a bit of a laugh, but didn't seem surprised at the curt response.
"I see how it is. Come on, let's go. You've had enough worrying for one day." A tug to his elbow and he was helped over to their room, a converted storage space. Midorima could most certainly still navigate without his glasses, but never told Takao this. Maybe he liked the fact this was the only time Takao's hands could gently guide him somewhere.
No mumbled protests, no angry grumbling, just him sinking down into the soft fabric of the makeshift futon, careful not to catch his ears on anything. The day's events had truly exhausted him more than he let on, and his eyes immediately closed. He felt the weight and the warmth as Takao sank next to him, probably thinking something incredibly embarrassing.
"We're going to Shuutoku tomorrow," He mumbled more than ordered. "They have resources there. And connections. I'm confident in my ability to find the others."
And there was no explanation needed, which is the one thing he loved the most. For all his flaws and oddities, the way he obsessively organized and ordered everything with precision, Takao understood.
"'course, Shin-chan," the gunner's voice said from behind him, as warm arms encroached on his personal space and fingers invaded his hair again. It just took a few of those soft movements, a whispered voice in his ears for him to fall into a deep sleep. A shame too, for he missed Takao's gentle smile.
Kagami had a sneaking suspicion that during their entire trip to Kaijou, Kuroko was mad at him. He didn't talk any more or less than usual, and his expression never changed, but something was a bit off. At least he was used to travelling in silence, not counting the three times he yelped at Kuroko's sudden appearance and the one time he (did not) scream when a dog ran straight at him after arriving in the city of Kaijou for the first time.
He probably should be more excited about visiting a city too, but he'd been travelling around for ages and the capital of Lunat was much bigger and the buildings more impressive. Still, he liked the smell of sea air Kaijou had, and the buildings were clean looking and made out of beautiful white stone.
Now if Kuroko would STOP ignoring him…
"Is there something you want to say? You've been fuming ever since we left Midorima's place," Kagami said, as they stopped outside yet another building that wasn't the hunting guild. (Apparently Kuroko wouldn't admit they were lost)
Kuroko actually had the gall to look up in slight shock. "I didn't think Kagami-kun would notice."
"I've been living with you for the better part of a month, I should fuckin' hope I start noticing your dumb mood swings!" Kagami growled, earning several looks from passerby. Glaring back, he took Kuroko's arm and led them sort of out of the way. "You've practically been sulking ever since then. What's up?"
Kuroko looked down, and then looked to the right. The tank never prided himself on his observational skills, but he'd been brushing up after taking the stoic mage on as his partner. Like right now, he could notice the slight dip of Kuroko's eyebrows and the shifting of fabric as his hands tightened. "Kagami-kun is a hypocrite."
Now he was really confused. When had he…or what exactly was he talking about? "That's completely unhelpful."
"Kagami-kun made me promise to not to make everyone else worry by pushing myself too hard. And then he had to pull something like that." Kuroko was almost…was pouting the right word? Either way, the tank was completely taken aback by the foreign expression on the little mage's face.
"W-what the hell is wrong with you? Since when did I-oh." He vaguely remembered something about the collapse of the tomb, how Riko had created a little cave but it wasn't enough, how he had taken up Riko and Kuroko in his arms to shield them with his body-
"Goddammit. Fuck." The pin dropped and he realized what exactly he'd done to make Kuroko upset. It was odd because he certainly didn't regret his decision, but it was obvious his partner had been traumatized by people doing that for him already.
"Kagami-kun is an idiot," Kuroko mumbled to himself, a light fist hitting his chest. Kagami could barely feel it through his armor-it was the same hand that he'd bandaged up back in the forest.
"You were worried about me? That's rich. I'm not a hypocrite, that's what tanks do!" He said, almost immediately regretting those words as a flash of pain shot through those big blue eyes.
"I-um, sorry. But I can't promise that won't happen again, you know? It's my job, Kuroko and there's probably gonna be like, similar situations, you know?" He tried to reason instead, but his mage was as blank-faced as ever.
There was silence for a moment. "Kagami-kun was worried about me when I did stupid things. I don't like being worried over. But you made me do the same to you so I won't forgive you."
Kagami couldn't really respond to that. Kuroko had been worried over him? Enough at least that he'd be agonizing over it this whole time despite not being good with emotions…
"I'm surprised Kagami-kun noticed." Now those eyes were staring at him and as much as he wanted to look away, he couldn't. "I wish you hadn't."
"Can't really take it back now. Sorry for that, but I can't really promise not to do it again. I honestly thought I was gonna die and it wouldn't matter if you hated me or not," Kagami said. A grim thought, but an honest one. "Then rabbit boy saved us and here we are.
"So how about this. You stop moping around like a dumb sad puppy, and we'll do our best to both stay alive, right?" Kagami said, the words feeling awkward as they slid out of his mouth. It was worth it though, when he saw a real smile grace Kuroko's lips, even if it was a small one. Once again it did strange things to his heart, and he had to look away.
"That's what white mages are for. Thank you Kagami-kun." Kuroko held out his fist in the air, and he froze for a moment until realizing just what the small mage wanted.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks too I guess. For caring," Kagami said, gently bumping his fist against Kuroko's.
Kuroko was more than happy now. Not only had Kagami noticed something was wrong, but they had settled it and understood each other more. He'd been almost inwardly panicking ever since Kagami used himself as a human shield and it reminded him all too well of that night, that person, and just what could happen to his partner.
But Kagami was Kagami and made a promise both of them could keep in the most Kagami-like way, and he was happy.
Worrying aside, Kuroko had put his hood up once he saw there were imperial soldiers in this town and became more invisible than usual, only the occasional soft touch confirming his presence to Kagami. He told him to ask for directions, though in reality that really wasn't hard for them to do.
Kagami was already attracting attention from everyone. He could hear whispers in the crowd as they glanced over at the tank striding through the streets, clueless. 'Did you see that red-haired swordsman?' 'I heard he won the Festival of the Hunt the very first time he entered…' 'Wow, scary face. And he has strange armor. Maybe a foreigner?' He was already making waves and Kuroko was not surprised.
There were even a few that questioned whether Kagami was a member of the Kiseki group, something that didn't really sit well with Kuroko until he heard something to his benefit. "You think he's here to visit Kise Ryouta? The Hunting Guild managed to catch him again," One woman shopper was saying to her friend.
"I wish I could sneak a peek, but the guild leader is so scary! He's always glaring at everyone," Her friend sighed, obviously daydreaming. Kuroko's head jerked up and he stopped, practically dragging his partner with him.
"Excuse me," Kuroko said, ignoring the way the ladies jumped in surprise. "We are looking for Kise Ryouta. Where can we find him?"
The two women looked startled, first at Kuroko's appearance, and then at the question, but he was patient. After determining the small mage was not out to get them-and Kagami was harmless-the first girl replied.
"I, um, well Kise Ryouta had been causing a lot of havoc around here recently. He's caused a ton of destruction so they locked him up a-at the Hunting Guild. It's apparently kinda top secret or something," she said, stuttering a bit when Kagami glared at her.
"Thank you. And could you point us towards the guild, please?" Kuroko asked, and they were only too happy to tell him the way. After a polite goodbye, Kuroko latched onto Kagami's arm and started pulling him in that direction, much to the larger guy's protest.
"Are you really sure it's gonna be that easy? This whole town is talking about him like he's a celebrity!" Kagami said. "Especially the girls!"
"Kise-kun has that effect on people. I must warn you before-hand though. Kise-kun is a dark elf and they are very unpredictable at the best of times. Please be on your guard." Kuroko hoped that his warning wouldn't hold any weight, but with the information Midorima had already given him, it seemed too much to hope that Kise was alright.
"Look, we can't just let you see a top security prisoner just because you say you know him!" Kasamatsu Yukio, the leader of the Kaijou guild, was a stocky, extremely angry human that they managed to catch at the wrong time. Either that, or this was his base personality which seemed more likely.
"I understand its an unusual request, but please understand. He is my friend and I have been searching for him for over a year now. After the Teiko guild fell apart, the Kiseki members were left to their own devices and I am attempting to bring them all back to their sense. Can you please let me in to see him?" Kuroko was getting desperate. He was so close to seeing another of his friends, up close and living, but this man was barring his way. Keeping a cool head was essential, but he needed to find out what was going on. If Kise had been affected by whatever this darkness thing was, then it was the first step.
He really just wanted to see the blonde's smile again.
"Look kid, I understand your determination, but-"Kasamatsu was interrupted by Kagami's hand in front his face, holding out a message that Kuroko had entirely forgotten about in his worry.
"Riko sent us. And she's not really someone you should piss off," Kagami said gruffly. Kasamatsu took one look at the content of the letter before his eyes widened.
"Really? So it's not just us then….and it says here to help you two out with whatever you need…You know, if you said this up front it would've been a lot easier," Kasamatsu said, glaring at both of them.
Kuroko resolved to never forget anything ever again. And to thank Kagami afterwards. "I apologize."
"I still don't quite know what's going on with you, but if you're part of the Seirin guild, I'll trust you with this. Maybe you can talk some sense into the poor guy," the leader said, suddenly standing up from his seat and beckoning them down a hallway.
It was dark and cool, smelling faintly of seaweed, but it was a nice feeling. However, as the winded down a twisting staircase and even more twisting passages, it got colder and creepier. "What do you mean, Kasamatsu-san?"
"I mean I had to lock him up, not for other's safety, but for his own. There's something really wrong with him. I have to keep him down here under all these wards so he won't break out again, but I can't get through, at all."
The words sent a cold chill straight to his heart, and he would've stumbled over an upturned rock had it not been for Kagami's subtle hand. Kise-kun, what happened to you?
They arrived at a door covered in white strips of paper with strange symbols on them. Kuroko didn't have to go near them to feel the power of the magic barrier set up, and it was a strong one. There was a clinking sound on the other side and Kuroko began feeling nauseous as the air around him dropped a couple degrees.
"You okay?" Kagami asked, and he silently nodded, pulling down his hood. What sort of white mage was he if he couldn't even face his friend? Kasamatsu unlocked and slowly opened the door for them, telling them he'd wait right outside in case something happened.
"I'm very sorry," the guild leader said again, and Kuroko could only guess what he meant.
The door clanged shut behind them, and a couple of solar lamps were flickering on the walls beside them. It was enough to illuminate the barred cell in front of them, and the lone figure inside. More of the paper seals were wrapped around the bars, though they seemed more about repelling than exorcizing.
The minute the door had closed, the figure turned towards them, Kagami taking an unconscious step backwards. Kuroko however, seeing the familiar silhouette of his friend, couldn't help but move forward until he was almost touching the bars.
"Kise-kun?"
The sound of chains rattled as the tall figure stood up, falling to just a bit below Kagami. Yellow eyes peered out at them both, but it wasn't the right color. Kise's eyes were an amber, and the color barely visible. This…this was a sickly yellow, taking up half of his eye and leaving the rest white.
"What do we have here? Someone else to gawk at the stray beauty in a cage?" And that was Kise's voice alright, but it was twisted, horribly wrong. The dark elf was staring at Kagami, having not even noticed Kuroko's presence.
"Kise-kun," Kuroko said, louder, and the figure froze. The yellow eyes turned on him and he let out a strangled gasp.
The chains clinked once again as Kise finally moved into the light. He looked beautiful as always, with slightly wavy golden locks, with the long pointed ears and dark freckles up his neck that indicated his race. It was like time had not changed a thing, only Kise was thinner and more gaunt-looking, every step paining him to walk. Kuroko could see the evidence of uneaten food and it did little more than twist his own stomach.
His hands were chained behind him and connected to the back wall, the long gashes on the bars and wall evident of why exactly, but it didn't stop the elf from moving so he was inches away from Kuroko's face.
"It can't be…you're not real."
Kuroko almost broke from the lost sound in Kise's voice. "I'm sorry Kise-kun. I had to leave for awhile, but I'm back."
He tried to smile, but he couldn't. Not while Kise was looking so lost. Not while his eyes looked so scary and possessed.
"K-kurokocchi?"
This time, it did break him.