Warning, this chapter gets pretty violent, especially near the end.
After his meeting with Kise, the golden boy of 'go shut the hell up, PLEASE', Kagami realized he knew absolutely nothing. More accurately, he had about 500 different questions and didn't know where to start and neither of his mage friends were helping at all.
After that somewhat disaster of a breakfast, Kise had gotten up to go talk to Kasamatsu only to suddenly collapse onto the ground. The tank's shouts had brought plenty of people running, but the good thing about your only friend being a white mage was that diagnoses happened really fast.
Kuroko declared that Kise was exhausted and malnourished from his jaunt inside the cell, where he had apparently refused to eat any food for days on end. Thankfully, he had the entire Kaijou guild looking out for him.
They were gonna stay here for a couple more days, weren't they?
At least Kise smelled better this time. He'd never mentioned it to Kuroko at all, but he could smell the same horrid, oily darkness the white mage talked about coming off of Kise. If he'd had a weaker constitution he would've thrown up right then and there but the needs of his partner powered him through. Still, Kagami wished that he couldn't smell it every single time he walked outside, though.
Looks like I was right and this land really is cursed, he thought, as he walked down the wooden boardwalk of the guild-house. And apparently the curse was connected to whatever infamous darkness Kuroko and bunny man were talking about. Kagami wasn't one to get mixed up in magical affairs, but this didn't just involve Kuroko's friends-it was everywhere.
In the ground, the trees, even those giant plant monsters that had attacked them during the festival of the hunt. The scent of evil clogged his nose until nothing else existed.
Kagami, deciding such thoughts were useless and circular, brought himself back to the other mystery at hand: one Kuroko Tetsuya. He'd said before that Kuroko had been sharing a lot about himself, and while that wasn't entirely false, there was a lot to be desired from him. For instance what was this deal about Kuroko's paladin, what exactly had happened to him when he was younger to make him so terrified, and just how did he become friends with the most feared branch of hunters known to man?
Kuroko was decidedly more difficult to figure out than those stupid number puzzles Tatsuya always seemed to love. Having enough of pacing angrily outside, Kagami made his way back to the room the three of them were sharing, only to stop suddenly when he heard Kuroko talking to Kise in low tones.
"…sure you've never heard anything from Akashi-kun?" Kuroko's voice said softly. The dark elf must have finally woken up from his forced slumber, then.
"Man that sounds weird. But no, I seriously haven't, Kurokocchi! Would I lie to you?" Kise's voice was whiny, like normal.
"You would most certainly lie if you think it would protect me."
"Okay, okay true, you have me there. But I swear I'm not lying this time, Kurokocchi! I haven't heard anything about Akashicchi, no more than the rumors of the Red Emperor that everyone knows," Kise pleaded.
There was a shuffling sound and Kagami, as quietly as he could, walked closer to the open door so he could hear better.
"I know. That is why I am helping everyone else first. Perhaps there will be some clues that will point us in the right direction," Kuroko said.
"So mean! So you don't care about us at all?!"
"No!" That exclamation was so unlike Kuroko that even Kagami froze, and he was technically not part of the conversation.
"Kise-kun, please don't think that, however desperate and single-minded I may seem. I would like to help all of you. Just logically speaking, as Midorima-kun would put it, it would be best to have all of you as allies before taking on Akashi-kun," Kuroko continued.
There was the sound a bit like Kise trying to laugh before he spoke again. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Sorry about that. Whatever possessed me really did a number to my self-esteem."
"Are you feeling better? I would hate for Kise-kun not to be his annoying self," Kuroko said.
There was a yelp, a sound of something slapping skin, and a slight thump. Probably the touchy elf trying to pat him on the head or something. "Are you sure you are fully recovered from that?"
"I think so. My head's clear now and there's no voices telling me to do horrible things," Kise's voice had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. He didn't sound upbeat anymore, and for some reason that disturbed the tank.
"Like what?"
"I don't know. It wanted me to destroy everything. Kill everything. Attached…like found the things I hated and made them real," Kise said, his voice muffled by something. Probably fabric. "I didn't want to say anything in front of that giant oaf you were lugging around, but…"
Kagami wanted to feel insulted, he really did. But the way Kise's voice broke off into a sob did nothing but stab him straight in the chest. He shouldn't be listening to this. Kuroko would get so angry to break his friends trust, but his feet were frozen in place.
"….killed everyone. In my dreams. Couldn't tell if it was real or not. When it was day out, I just felt out of control, I wanted to like…I wanted to just break away and do whatever I wanted, damn the consequences. And at night everything was worse. I saw Aominecchi so many times, and just when I thought he was real, I'd…I'd just…there was blood everywhere. Kurokocchi, I couldn't…."
The silent cries were still there, but Kagami's heart was beating so fast, his ears straining so hard he could hear the soft brush of fabric as Kuroko presumably reached forward and started holding Kise again.
How could something like this exist? What was it that was eating away at the minds of the most powerful people alive? Kagami was suddenly grateful that Kuroko had escaped before that. What it would've been like for the little white mage to go through hell again-he could still remember how much the boy had shook against him with the king's soldiers were after them.
It was time for him to leave. Kagami finally forced strength into his legs and walked away as fast as as he could, because these thoughts and that conversation were not for him.
Kagami acted like he didn't know, and Kuroko acted like he didn't know that Kagami knew, while Kise just stared daggers into him at all times. It was just the way things were going to be and he didn't really have the heart to speak about it.
He returned to the room after pacing around a little more, seeing Kise more awake and alert than he'd been for hours. Which was both a good and bad thing, because now he had to endure the blonde speaking again.
The tank had questions though, and he wasn't gonna leave without them. "The more I see of these people, the less I believe you're actually friends with them, Kuroko. How the hell do you know them?"
Cue for Kise to give him a withering look, apparently, since Kuroko's face hardly changed at all. "Wait, you're saying that Kurokocchi never told you?"
Kuroko shook his head, which left Kagami even more confused. "Tell me what? What's going on?"
"It didn't seem important at the time. I did not know of your conditions," Kuroko told his friend before turning back to the tank. Kagami was about to demand an answer when what his partner said next shut him up permanently.
"Kagami-kun, the reason I am friends with the Kiseki is because I am one of them," Kuroko said.
Silence. He could see Kise smirking out of the corner of his eye but he was focused entirely on what the white mage said. "But. That can't be possible. There's only-"
"Five. Yes, I know. That is mostly because I kept to the shadows during tournaments and hunts," Kuroko explained calmly. Kagami stuttered. Ever since he'd fought with the kid the first time in the Festival, he'd known Kuroko was special, but this? He was one of the legendary hunters famed the world over?
"Didn't you ever wonder about how the Kiseki could never lose even in team versus team fights?" Kise spoke up from the side. "The rumors of how our wounds just healed on their own, that there was a phantom sixth member…"
Kise was mocking him, he knew it, and Kagami wanted nothing more than to get angry at strangle his pretty neck. But unfortunately, his words sent a jolt of remembrance through his spine. He'd spent a lot of time wandering with his teacher and Alex, and even more being thrown from one city to the next in search of a guild and in every place he was inundated with legends of the Kiseki of Teiko.
The five miracles of the hunting world, of all different races and origin, but they shared one thing in common: their exceptional abilities and power. No one could stand against them, no hunter or monster. They even brought down the legendary Bahamut, king of all dragons, while working as a team.
The rumors grew even fiercer when there was a claim that there was a phantom sixth member of the Kiseki. Tatsuya in particular loved telling Kagami that story. No one had ever heard, or seen him, but they claimed that not only was real, but even more powerful than Akashi was. A truly mysterious mage that somehow became even more famous than the Kiseki themselves.
"I-Oh. OH." Kagami said. "That was you this whole time?!"
The tank's voice did an impressive squeak at the end as Kuroko nodded, hiding his mouth behind his hand. Fuck, they were both laughing at him, weren't they? Kise's clear laughter pealed out from under the blankets as the idiot nearly fell out of his bed and Kuroko's shoulders were shaking silently.
"Shut the hell up, both of you! How the hell was I supposed to know?" His face got steadily redder as he remembered all the times that Kuroko mentioned his Kiseki friends, how even Midorima treated him with respect, how Kise mentioned all of the Kiseki had originally gotten those stupid pendants, and he nearly wanted to slap himself in the face.
"Ahahahah, you didn't know! Your partner's so dumb!" Kise was practically crying with laughter now. "He was with Kurokocchi this entire time and he didn't even figure it out, you're even worse than Aominecchi!"
The laughter turned into ugly snorting noises when Kagami finally lost his self-control and really did start to smother Kise with his own pillow. Kuroko even watched for a minute before finally pulling his partner off, the dark elf glaring up at him.
Kuroko stood between the two children so they wouldn't keep fighting, and eventually Kagami settled for just sitting down on one of the floor cushions. He couldn't believe that all this time he'd been travelling around with a living legend. That he'd protected him, slept under the stars with him, even confessed about his brother to him.
Somehow, the knowledge that Kuroko was a legend in his own right changed nothing but his desire to learn more about the mysterious white mage. This certainly explains the prowess he showed in the Tomb of Aegia at least…Riko's gonna have a stroke when she learns this.
Nestled in his heart somewhere, Kagami was proud of himself at landing such a partner, even though he wouldn't admit it for a thousand years.
"Kise-kun, please don't provoke my partner, he's dumb sometimes," Kuroko said, earning a shout from said tank. "And Kagami-kun, please don't murder my friend. We need to cooperate."
"He started it…" Kagami muttered before finally shutting up.
"Are we done here?" Kuroko asked both of them, and they both nodded, scared about the change in aura around the little white mage. "Good."
That was one question of Kagami's that got answered, and it explained a hell of a lot. However, it also opened up a ton of new questions, and by the looks on both of their faces, he wasn't gonna get any more information.
"So," Kagami said slowly, testing the waters, "We've got this guy back, and you're heading after that Aomine guy next. What are we going to do now?"
"Well, I need to recover my strength a bit, but I was gonna stay in Kaijou and ask around while Kurokocchi goes back with you," Kise said, looking less than pleased at that idea. "Even if he's better off with me."
"Kise-kun will contact us if he has any information regarding the darkness or other members of the Kiseki," Kuroko said. "Meanwhile, Aida-san told us to return to Seirin. We really can't do anything else here."
Kagami didn't really like that idea, but his partner was right. There wasn't much here left for them, and besides, that meant spending more time around Kise. He needed to continue training, too, as the fight with Hanamiya made him realize he was still lacking a lot of things.
"Okay, we'll do that," he concluded, and Kuroko seemed to relax.
It took another day for Kise to fully recover, but dark elves seemed to be especially resistant, and next day, the blonde was up and bouncing around like normal. After questioning the guild members fruitlessly, the trio moved out into town, when they were almost immediately mobbed by a group of people.
Kise, of course, was surrounded by female fans dying to know if he was okay and if Kasamatsu was right, that he'd be staying around, and the dark elf indulged them all, apologizing ever so graciously about trouble he'd caused, if they would ever forgive him, all the shit that made Kagami want to puke.
He was more surprised when he realized about half the group was there to see HIM, the famous red-headed beserker who had won Seirin's Festival of the Hunt and been making a name for himself. He'd even defeated a zombie dragon and Hanamiya, the necromancer famous for his cruelty! (Kagami suspected Takao's big mouth was responsible for that one)
Kagami was about to protest, when he realized that Kuroko had once again disappeared from his side. Quickly, he tugged on one of the stupid sleeves of Kise's outfit to get his attention. "Hey, Kuroko's gone."
That was all it took for the blonde to abandon the adoring masses and go along with Kagami to the center of town. Earlier, Kise had burst into the room, excited that Kasamatsu had apparently kept his original clothing and weapons around, and changed into them immediately. Kagami was pretty sure the shirt did not need to be THAT low-cut, or have weird feathery things around the collar, but he was no longer surprised about the things that the dark elf did.
Besides, Kagami was really itching to find out just exactly how a blue mage fought.
"I can't believe you lost Kurokocchi!" Kise said as the two rushed towards Kaijou's market center.
"You've known him for longer! You tell me how easy it is the find that little shit when he slips away," Kagami growled back.
The dark elf just grumbled something about 'supposed to be partners' and 'not his fault Kurokocchi was so sneaky' before they heard the sounds of someone dramatically shouting.
Kagami's eyes widened, thinking it was a fight or something even worse, but by the time he burst out of the narrow alley, he realized exactly what it was.
A theater group was giving a large production in the central square, a makeshift stage set up between two closed buildings. An assortment of benches and stools were put out for seats and most of them were filled. Apparently it was a pretty famous group, judging from the crowd that was gathered.
"What the…" Kagami was just about to leave and go somewhere else to look for his partner when Kise's hand stopped him.
"No. Kurokocchi's definitely here," Kise said, sounding solemn for once. Kagami just gave him a blank stare. "It's his favorite play. Believe me, he's here."
It annoyed him this dark elf knew more about his partner than he did, but he pushed that thought aside as he scanned the crowd. It took him three sweeps to finally spot the tiny blue haired figure, sitting near the front of the crowd. Apparently someone had mistaken him for a child and given him a seat there.
The bad thing was Kagami couldn't get to the front without raising up a huge ruckus, so he just grudgingly stood at the back, looking around at for information about what exactly this play was.
"I forget the name, but the play's about two friends who eventually fall in love with each other," Kise said, obviously taking pity on him. Then again, he couldn't really do anything either. "They grew up together and were very close, but one of them was a white mage so they were destined to be separated. Because of the persecution, the mage ran away and her companion never saw her again and he was struck with grief. Later on she comes back only to find her original home overtaken by war and chaos. She desperately searches for her long lost friend and long story short, she confronts the ruler of the land at the final battle who ends up being her friend. They thought she had been lost and was fighting to change the world they lived in. The only way they recognized each other was through a poem they recited to each other before they both died to save the world from the evil the other friend had accidentally unleashed."
"It's a pretty tragic play, but Kurokocchi always loved it for some reason," Kise finished, staring at the actors on stage. Right now the girl playing the white mage was having some sort of monologue on stage.
'White's a color that isn't black….
White's the words you can't take back.
But white's my magic, pure and true…
White's the love I hold for you.'
The girl collapsed on her knees. "Oh my friend, I'm sorry I abandoned you!"
"That's part of the poem. Kurokocchi's memorized the whole thing." Kise's voice suddenly sounded morose. "Come on, let's go get him."
Kagami didn't question it at all, subdued by the explanation that Kise gave. It seemed like a horribly depressing thing that Kuroko could get attached to, but maybe it was because one of the main characters was a white mage.
His story isn't gonna be a tragic one, though, Kagami thought to himself.
He and Kise only took a step forward before the sound of marching broke out and a scream echoed over the town plaza. Kagami froze in place as an entire squadron of soldiers filed out, causing the crowds around them to surge and nearly knock the two over.
Complete chaos broke out as bodies ran in every different direction, a caconophy of voices rising above them.
"The soldiers-"
"Oh gods above, they're here-"
"-they'll kill us all!"
He was buffeted from all sides, but as the soldiers voices added to the mix, Kagami desperately pushed forward to find Kuroko. He lost Kise somewhere, but he didn't care. He knew just why the soldiers were there and he couldn't let that happen again! Seirin was enough, how DARE they terrorize this town too-
A gunshot rang into the air and the crowd fell silent. His heart leaping to his mouth, Kagami pushed his way to the front of the crowd, only to see the captain of the platoon holding the white mage actress by her hair.
She was doing a very good job of not crying, but anyone would be terrified in her position, especially when the captain lowered his gun towards her head.
"Now, I know we've been getting reports of illegal activity and rumors of an actual white mage, but what really got it into your little heads that putting on a banned play was a good idea?" The captain said, twisting the woman's hair in his hand.
She gave a slight whimper and Kagami snarled, the heat of anger rising to his chest and causing his senses to go out of control. It's just a fucking play! How dare he. The tank didn't know anything about banned plays, but it was such a dumb thing to hold a public execution for, it made his blood boil. Is this really what Lunat had fallen to these days?
"Just let her go!" Came a cry from the crowd, probably one of her fellow actors, but all the captain did was throw the girl to the ground, stepping on her robe so she couldn't get away.
"Now why would I do that? The king's orders are absolute," The captain flicked the hammer of the gun up as the rest of the soldiers had fanned out to stop the crowd from breaking out in a full riot. One stopped in front of Kagami and gave him a sneer that nearly made him punch the lights out.
He didn't know why he hesitated. Maybe because he was an outsider, these were soldiers, and there were so many consequences of acting out that could harm everyone else, that maybe more people would get hurt. But as he looked around at the hardened, fearful, angry faces of the crowd, he knew the answer was clear.
"And his orders are that white mages are a bane on society, so I think I'll just make a little example here," he said. Kagami drew his sword, making his choice, only to find out that someone had already done it before him.
"I apologize, but you are being very rude to this woman and the people of this town," A soft voice rang out, somehow carrying over all the outraged noise of the plaza and the clink of weaponry. In fact, it nearly cut it off in its place, leaved behind a white and black robed figure with sky blue hair.
It surprised the captain enough that the woman yanked herself free, crawling away from soldiers. Kuroko quickly stepped up and stood between them, his staff crossing his body. Kagami's heart sank. He knew it was the white mage's voice, but he had hoped it hadn't been the case. The idiot was gonna get himself killed!
"And just who the hell are you?!" The soldier bellowed, obviously not pleased about the interruption.
"It's rude to ask the name of someone you are intending to kill, but even you should know the king's power is slipping and there is very little you can permanently do here," Kuroko said, not budging an inch. It was like the entire crowd was holding their breath while the little mage spoke, every word clear as day. "I dislike violence, but I will not abide by you using your powers to callously abuse innocent bystanders."
The captain could feel his control of the situation slipping, from the way the murmurs and jeers grew louder, and how the woman, slowly stood up, staying behind Kuroko, in an act of defiance. "You little brat!"
He made a move to backhand Kuroko, and Kagami, seeing red, kicked the soldier in front of him over to the open space behind him. However, he needn't have bothered, as Kuroko back stepped him, holding out his staff like a sword.
"Kuroko!" He shouted, but it seemed like the blue-haired idiot was ignoring him.
"If your king has issues with white mages, take it up with a real one." And with that statement Kuroko's eyes began to glow and his free hand filled up with a white light.
If he didn't have their attention before, he did now, and even the Kaijou townspeople stopped and stared. "A real white mage…I thought they were all dead!"
"It's true! The legend of Teiko's holy mage. It's true!"
The soldiers had decided that holding the crowd back was less important and surged towards the white mage, but one burst of white light had them all flung back to the side of the marketplace. The crowd, wisely began to run and Kagami had enough.
As the captain struggled up again, he rushed forward and planted himself between Kuroko and the soldiers. "I'll kill any of you fuckers who touch my partner!"
The soldiers had finally all drawn their weapons-or magic, Kagami didn't really care-when a yellow blur in the edge of his vision appeared.
"Kagami, you stole my big entrance!" Kise whined, finally showing his stupid face.
"I thought you'd ditched us and run away like a coward," Kagami growled, not taking his eyes off the threat.
"And abandon Kurokocchi? You think really little of me," he easily said, and the tank heard the sound of blades being pulled out of their sheaths. Kise was a dual-wielder, and each weapon was big enough to be called a scimitar at this rate, but he wasn't interested in that.
"Then what do you say you show me what you got right here and now?" This time Kagami grinned at the thought of a challenge and seeing what one of the Kiseki could do. He didn't forget what had happened here, of course, but the flames of passion and anger burned equally in him.
Nobody tried to touch his partner.
"Kagami-kun," a voice said, and he tried not to jolt from it too much.
"Will you make sure everyone else is okay?"
"Kagami-kun, I've already put up a barrier around this area, no one outside of it should get hurt."
He cracked his shoulder and Kise made a clinking noise as he ran a hand through his hair and hit the ornament. "Good. I guess I can go all out then."
"Yes. Both of you, please don't hold back," Kuroko said, and a flash of white enveloped both of them. Kagami rushed forward.
These soldiers were a joke. Two of them took him on at once, so he just sidestepped and used one of them as a shield before slamming the hilt of his sword down on the guy's head. He collapsed like a rock and Kagami turned to go sword to sword with the second. This guy was a little better and even managed to score a blow, if Kuroko's protect spell had not deflected it partly.
It took a couple of sweeping maneuvers and a stab downwards to knock this guy out of the game, though Kagami was wary of killing actual humans. Monsters were one thing, murder was another.
However, he did not have time to think about that when the chaos allowed the captain to rush straight at Kuroko, something glowing in his hands. Completely ignoring his own safety, Kagami activated his aura, taking a few crushing steps forward and tackling the guy to the side.
The spell went haywire, a few fire bolts shooting out everywhere and crashing into the ground, inches from where they had all just stood. One good kick, and Kagami disentangled himself, his aura flaring up in orange and red around him.
It wasn't something he liked to show to other people, but Kagami was pissed. How dare he try to harm his partner?! His nerves trembled, nails and teeth clawing their way outward as he let out a thundering roar that shook the ground.
A wave of magical energy stopped all of his enemies in their tracks, except the few that had already fallen to the flash of Kise's blades. He hadn't been as careful, and already Kagami could see a few lines of blood fading from his arms.
They were surrounded, really. What had been enough soldiers to subdue a large crowd were slowly crawling their way around them, boxing the tree in with (hopefully) no chance of escape.
Kise made no remark on the tank's aura. Instead his pupils had narrowed into slits and he was smiling, one that sent shivers down his spine and the beast inside Kagami roaring. "What do you hope to accomplish by doing this, huh?"
"My shield spell will only last for one more minute. Please end this quickly," Kuroko said, having ended up nearly sandwiched between the two. "Kise-kun…."
"On it." The blonde snapped his fingers, a blue light materializing into flames like the captain had used for his homing spell. "Tell me, captain, do you remember what blue mages can do?"
The soldiers began backing up as they realized Kise only had them where he wanted them to be. So focused on taking down Kagami, they had forgotten the wily dark elf was still there.
"Copy other peoples magic…?" The captain was sweating now.
"Wrong." Kise's smile hadn't dropped a bit, and held no semblance of mercy at all.
He snapped his fingers and the fire sprang from his fingers in all directions. Kagami didn't have time to flinch as it rushed past him and Kuroko, singing hairs off of his head. The soldiers didn't have any time to move before the bright balls of fire tore through each of them, scattering their bodies like ragdolls.
One by one they fell around him, leaving Kagami in a state of shock, his sword nearly hitting the floor.
"I copy your magic, but a thousand times better." Kise's hands slipped ever so gently around the captain's neck, the only one still standing, before lifting his feet off the ground. "Tell your king he picked a fight with the wrong person."
His teeth slid against his lips. "The Kiseki declare their independence. Your doom will come when the Red Emperor regains his throne." And with that, Kise tossed the only living man back down on the ground.
He ran away, his sword clattering onto the ground, and Kagami would've scoffed in disgust had he not been shocked that the fight had ended so quickly. His bloodlust was still in full-swing, but he had no one to actually apply it too.
"I. But I was gonna…" Kagami gestured helplessly at the field, letting his aura finally die. "But I was gonna fight them!"
"Oh right, I guess I went a little bit overboard, haha…" Kise said sheepishly, having the gall to actually look ASHAMED at having taken down an entire platoon of soldiers in one blow. No wonder the king was so scared of them.
"Kise-kun! I told you not to kill anyone." A loud smack resounded as Kuroko's staff hit the back of his head. The dark elf yelped, rubbing the back of his skull as his eyes teared up.
"But Kurokocchi! They were gonna do terrible things to you and that woman from earlier!" Kise whined.
"I don't condone their actions either, but I do not want you turning into a murderer," Kuroko said, glaring him down sternly like he's had this conversation a lot.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'll try to hold back a little but I don't guarantee anything. You were right though. Kagamicchi makes a great distraction!" Kise said as he picked up his daggers.
"I, hey wait, why the hell did you add that to my name?" Kagami yelled, his anger flaring up again.
"Kise-kun adds that suffix onto the names of people he respects. It's good for you," Kuroko said, carefully standing next to his partner. Kuroko seemed strained being around a scene of such violence, so the two of them started steering away from it.
"I don't want a nickname! Just call me Kagam-wait, you respect me?" Kise sure had a way of confusing the tank.
"Well, you rushed out there to protect Kurokocchi and aren't half bad with a sword. I can see why Kurokocchi picked you," Kise said, and the stare he sent at him had lost all its harsh edge.
He didn't know whether to feel proud or angry that Kise had finally decided to accept him as Kuroko's partner. It wasn't like he needed their approval, or something…and especially with that display of power he'd just seen, Kagami was maybe a little bit afraid of the frivolous blonde now.
"Okay, whatever," Kagami said, trying to get his mind off of the battle. "Are all the other Kiseki freaks that strong?"
That got Kise laughing again, except this time he was hanging off of Kagami's arm. "Of course! Why do you think they gave us this name! To be completely honest, I was kinda the weakest of the bunch, though its hard to judge with our weird abilities."
"Aomine-kun won against fights with Kise-kun all the time," Kuroko supplied behind them, looking none the worse for wear. "A-Akashi-kun eventually banned them from fighting since they destroyed buildings so much."
That was the first time Kuroko had spoken freely about Akashi and Kagami was about to ask more, but the crowd from earlier had mobbed them, and he lost the chance to speak.
All in all, among the people of Kaijou, especially the theater troupe, they were regarded as heroes, though Kasamatsu gave them a verbal (and physical, in Kise's case) thrashing when they reported the incident to the guild.
"Did you not stop ONCE to think that other people could've gotten hurt, or killed?"
"Yeah, but-"
"Did you not stop to think YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN KILLED? Or that now I have to go and explain the goddamn situation in a way that won't get the town burned to the fuckin' ground?"
"But-"
"Don't but me, Kise Ryouta. You may be one of the famed Kiseki, but you still caused a mess in my town that I have to clean up!" Kasamatsu finished, finally seeing that the three were cowed enough by his reaction.
The shorter man ran a hand through his hair. "That being said, I probably have to thank you anyway. I never thought letting them do that play would cause something to happen…it's just a harmless piece of entertainment? I don't get it."
"Their actions are atrocious, but I suspect it has to do with desperation more than any particular act," Kuroko said, surprising everyone.
"How so?" Kagami asked, confused about the whole situation. Politics was something that never stuck with him.
"The king's power has been slipping recently, especially ever since the Teiko guild disappeared after their attack. Whatever the reason, he's been sending his soldiers out on increasing patrols, trying to wrest power back from the powerful hunting guilds, which have been functioning as pseudo-governments and security forces," Kuroko said.
Kagami had never heard Kuroko say so many words in such a short time and it proceeded to make even less sense than Riko's constant lectures on demon biology. "Wha…"
Kise just shook his head. "I don't get it either."
He swore that Kasamatsu was about to pop a blood vessel. "How can you two be so stupid?! That's why there's so much imperial activity lately. Your guild master even sent me a message about it!"
"How am I supposed to know? I'm a foreigner here!" Kagami protested. Besides, he'd just heard they'd been gaining influence, not any of this other bullshit!
"That's no excuse for ignorance, Kagami-kun. The point I am trying to make is a situation like this was inevitable, but I just exacerbated it with my presence," Kuroko said, looking at the floor.
"Senpai, it's terrible! They're out to kill Kurokocchi just 'cause he's a white mage! You can't let them know he was here!" Kise pleaded, tugging on the guild leader's arm.
"Stop that! Of course I know that! You three really are out to cause as much trouble for me as possible," Kasamatsu said, and sighed, again. "We're working on hiding the bodies as you speak, and the townsfolk are already drumming up the story about how the red-haired swordsman and Kise Ryouta saved the town from some rowdy drunken soldiers. No one will even know Kuroko was here."
It was a bit sad, since Kuroko was the one who'd stood up for the whole town, but it was better for him to be safe than a martyr. Kasamatsu really had thought this out and he couldn't be more grateful. You know, deep down inside somewhere.
"Thank you, Kasamatsu-san. I'm deeply sorry for any trouble we've caused," Kuroko said, bowing down in a show of politeness.
"Look kid, I hate to say it, but when not only Kise Ryouta came to my part of the world, but also a fabled white mage from the Seirin guild, I had a feeling things were going to get rocky. Do I like you idiots causing trouble? No. But I hate the king and his doings even more, so if this is what gets us out of this mess, then so be it," Kasamatsu said, staring sternly. "But you better promise you guys know what you're doing."
"Of course," Kagami scoffed, while Kise's response was merely to hug the guild leader and declare 'just how dedicated and mature senpai was!'
"GET OFF OF ME!" Was the resulting scream and a foot to Kise's face, as Kagami ignored the two and turned back to Kuroko.
We'll be alright, won't we? His eyes seemed to ask, so of course the tank nodded. This was only the start of it.
"Besides, senpai, you don't have to worry. I pretty much declared this area as my territory," Kise said, standing up and brushing himself off. "That means, if anything bad happens, they know I'll be there to fix it."
From what happened earlier, Kagami was fairly certain he knew what 'fix it' meant.
"We can take care of ourselves," Kasamatsu said testily.
"So? Can you really? I'm just here for added protection until I find my other friends!" Kise said, pushing his hands together and fluttering his eyes. How did anyone survive five seconds with this guy without wanting to punch him?
Which of course, Kasamatsu did immediately afterwards, so he felt better about himself.
"It's bad enough I have to deal with possessed monsters, imperial soldiers, and that damn Touou gang of dragoons, I don't want to-"
"What did you say?" Kise's hard voice cut them off and once again, a spark of ice travelled down Kagami's spine.
"We've been having problems with this gang of dragoons up north in Irgo Mountains. However, I didn't want to tell you because-"
Kise's pupils narrowed into slits once again as he froze in place, waiting for the information to sink in. He'd only seen this look once before when Kuroko had mentioned Aomine before, but now that he…
"Sorry, gotta go!" The dark elf didn't pause to say anything else before barging straight out of the door and out into the street.
"…because I knew you would do that. YOU GODDAMN IDIOT, YOU CAN'T GO RUNNING OFF LIKE THAT!" Kasamatsu yelled after him. "Kuroko, if you see him again and his stupid ass isn't dead, please KILL HIM FOR ME."
Kuroko had one of the most exasperated looks Kagami had ever seen him make on his face. "Don't worry, I will. I think he'll be okay as long as he doesn't try to pick a fight with Aomine-kun."
"That's…I give up. Just go. We'll handle things here. Just get going," Kasamatsu said, rubbing his temples like he wanted a headache to go away. The pair decided not to argue and left for their own guild.
They made it back to the Seirin guild in record time, slightly disturbed by the events that had happened in Kaijou. Kise's possession had been one thing, but the soldiers being bold enough to nearly execute someone in public was more than Kagami had been prepared to handle.
They were silent for the trip, despite the tank wanting to ask Kuroko just what the deal with Akashi and Aomine were, and why that play was so important to him. But as it was, they had much more to think about when they were greeted fist-first by Riko when they got back.
"I let you two go off for a couple days on your own and find you nearly started a RIOT in another city?! I can't take you two anywhere!" She yelled as both of them kneeled on the ground, clutching their heads.
"It wasn't our fault! They were just going to murder someone. How were we supposed to sit back and watch that?!" Kagami protested right back. Kiyoshi, ever the (somewhat lopsided, with an angry Hyuuga running after him) lifesaver, came up behind them.
"She was just worried about you guys. We did hear about Kise though, so I'm glad Kuroko got his friend back," he said, patting them both of the back with his huge hands.
"Teppei, how many times have I told you to sit down?" Thankfully that did seem to calm Riko down, as she didn't bodily harm them anymore. "And of course I can't stand for that. But I didn't send you off there to get yourselves and everyone else killed. Your training is gonna be tripled, believe me!"
And no matter how much Kagami protested, that was the end of it. Even Kuroko had the slight edge of panic to him-he actually closed his eyes for a few seconds longer than normal. Any thoughts of asking anything further of the boy were thrashed out of his head as Riko immediately put them back to work. By the end of the day, the tank wanted to die, and not in a good way.
Kuroko had actually finally fallen asleep and stayed that way for a day, annoying his partner further, mostly for overexerting himself yet again. He did his morning exercises, survived Riko's lecture on fighting techniques and how to properly use a potion, and started sparring against Kiyoshi and whatever golem Riko decided was fit.
He could tell he improved by leaps and bounds, as dodging blows and striking back was coming to him much more naturally now, but seeing Kise in action and how he'd effortlessly taken down the entire squadron just made Kagami want to train more. How else could he be the strongest in the land if he couldn't beat the Kiseki themselves?
He had one of them as his partner, anyway. Kagami would be lying to himself if he didn't say somewhere deep down inside he wanted to impress Kuroko. He was glad when the mage finally woke up and they could train (and die of exhaustion) together, but it was cut short on the sixth day by an unexpected visit.
Kuroko, and Kagami by extension, had been visiting the mailbox almost every day to hear any news on Kise, but it had been a fruitless effort. Kagami could tell his partner was worried-Kuroko had been distracted and fidgety, and there were nights where he could tell he wasn't sleeping properly.
However, neither of them expected a giant bunny man and his annoying sidekick to show up on their daily trip outside.
"What a coincidence we meet here," Midorima said, nudging his glasses with a taped finger.
Kagami could only stare dumbly back as he heard Takao snickering over to the side somewhere. "We fuckin' live here! How is that a coincidence?"
"Hello, Midorima-kun, Takao-kun." Kuroko greeted them as blithely as ever.
"Yo, Tet-chan. Midorima wanted to drop by cause we have something important to tell you," Takao said, giving a little wave and not caring about all the stares the strange duo were getting. Bel'ua were pretty common in this village, but one dressed like Midorima was not.
"I was just passing by, that's how! I decided that since I am here, I could inform Kuroko of something I happened to hear about in Shuutoku," Midorima said, glaring down at Kagami.
"You live in the other direction."
"Takao, I did not ask for your opinion."
Kuroko managed to cut off their bickering by stepping in between them. "Midorima-kun, please tell me what's so important."
The tall Bel'ua was uncharacteristically quiet, even shifting his eyes away so he wouldn't meet Kuroko's gaze. Something was definitely wrong. Kagami looked over at Takao, who just shrugged helplessly.
"Akashi has been sighted, Kuroko. It is not a pretty scene."
Gravel crunched underneath a pair of black feet. The air was still, not a sound to be heard, and that itself was unnatural. The street leading up the castle was emptied long ago, bodies of the guards laying scattered and broken on the ground. The dirt slowly bled crimson.
The footsteps kept coming, each sound ringing a dirge for any more who dared stand in the way of the dark knight, his sword covered in blood and ashes, a cape as red as his hair. The figure stopped, and finally the dead air coughed itself to life, as if the Red Emperor commanded the air itself-slowly, tendrils of wind picked up his cape and blotted out the sun.
"There is nothing but death for you here, and yet you still do not kneel," he said, gently bringing up his deathly sword and laying it on the man's shoulder. All one could hear was his heavy breathing, the drip of the sweat from his face, every inch of terror it brought him when the steel blade sang close to his skin.
"I-I have no need to fear a boy like you," the man said, an impressive job of covering up his cowardice. Akashi could almost laugh at the irony. The man was several inches taller than him, but one gaze from his eyes, one whispered word, and he would easily cave and beg for his life.
"Is that so? I think differently." Heterochromatic eyes bore straight into the man's soul. He closed his eyes but still they were there. The image was burned onto his brain, on his very soul. That inhuman stare, the chilling look of a predator that had found its prey.
The man standing before Akashi used to be the Grand General of the Imperial Army, and the one who had led the attack on Seirin's hunting guild, under the impression a white mage, a vile sin on humanity, had taken up residence there.
"Tell me then. Why do you hate white mages so much?" Akashi's smooth voice trickled out. He wanted to know. He wanted to know before he killed him, just what hatred was making him do this. Just what reason these fiends could possibly have for ruining his life.
"They're an abomination, just like you," the man coughed out, impressively, against Akashi's blade. "Little witches, all of them. All their fancy words and spells and they never do what you need them to do. We aren't meant to have that power. You're disgust-"
The dark knight retracted his blade and stabbed it through the man's leg, causing him to scream out and drop to his knees. Akashi's armor hand reached out and gripped the General's hair, tightly and unforgivingly.
"Scum like you don't have the privilege of looking me in the eye," Akashi spat, before raising his blade up to the sun, blessing it in the warmth of a new day and severing the man's head from his shoulders.
It rolled away as Akashi kicked the body over, not minding the blood that has splattered on his face. He could wear it like paint, like a mask, and it still wouldn't be enough. That blood could never be enough to repay the life it had stolen from Akashi.
"Disgusting? You tried to kill him because he stronger than you. Cowardly wretches, all of you. To destroy a kingdom just for that power…" He stepped over the body, leaning down to pick up a lance, a lance lying in a pool of blood that was as red as his hair. In one hand he carried it, and in the other, the severed prize from his conquest.
"Never again will you touch him." With that statement, Akashi drove the lance into the ground, cracking the gravel beneath his feet. It stood there, a lonely behemoth in the middle of the street. The wind had picked up finally, seeming to release a sigh now that the general was dead, and his cape flapped in the wind. From a distance, it had always looked as if Akashi had wings from how his cape soared, but nothing more than an angel of death is what he had become.
He raised the head of the general and drove it down on the sharp point of the spear, letting the blood drip down noisily. His gloves were covered in it, but that didn't matter. Red had always suited him.
He allowed himself a smile as he walked away from the gruesome scene, leaving nothing behind but an unspoken promise.
The Red Emperor had declared war on the king.
Sorry this took forever, but I've been procrastinating on a lot of things and my new job has been leaving me really tired and cuts down on free time. Anyway hope you enjoy this update and thanks for all the reviews and comments so far!