The only thing more awkward than suddenly meeting Midorima and Takao standing outside their guild was taking them inside and introducing them to the guild. Kuroko hadn't wanted to talk about such things out in the open so Kagami reluctantly agreed, despite the myriad dirty looks the rabbit kept sending him.
The silent staring war for the both of them kept up until Midorima suddenly got his ears stuck (painfully) on a light fixture because he was simply too tall for the entire building. The Bel'ua let out a yelp of pain, Takao nearly fell over laughing, and Kuroko was stuck trying to calm both of them down.
"Midorima-kun, please stop moving around-you're just making it worse," The mage said, holding onto the archer's arm, but said archer was desperately trying to unhook his ears without regard to personal safety. In the end it was up to Kagami, the only person even tall enough to reach the ceiling. Both he and Takao were uncontrollably giggling the entire time.
"I'm so glad all of you can find my pain and misery funny!" Midorima yelled, furious, and Kagami was sure that he was about to tear his own ear off in his panic. The tank's large hands were fumbling because the fur had gotten caught in a hook on the side of the fixture and Midorima wouldn't. Stand. Still.
"Shut up, I'm trying to help!" He'd long since passed on the laughter part of this situation and landed firmly in the annoyance. Every time he found the angry knot of fur that was attached to the light-fixture, the ear twitched out of his reach. Eventually Kagami just grabbed the ear, practically tugged the appendage out of the metal's grip with one go, causing Midorima to make an inhuman noise.
"That's what you get for moving!" Kagami shouted, as the Bel'ua gave him the most offended look, his ears bending flat against his head. Truth be told, Midorima's gaze was scaring him more than a little but the tank was a stubborn asshole and just glared back. The green eyes bored into him for a little while longer before, clutching his ear, the Bel'ua grabbed Kuroko by the hood and started dragging him off.
"This is disgusting. I'm not spending any more time around these fools," Midorima said, his footsteps clacking down the hallway. "We are talking alone."
Kagami tried to protest, but with Takao stepping on his foot, there wasn't much he could do about it. So he just let the crazy rabbit man drag away his partner to probably murder him Zodiark knew where. And wasn't Takao laughing like a maniac earlier?
"Okay, Kagami, I know that whole scene was funny, but did you really have to rip the poor guy's ear to shreds?" The hawk-eyed male said, giving him a look. Kagami just mumbled something about him moving a lot and glared at the floor. Great, now Kuroko was probably gonna yell at him later.
"Shin-chan's pain aside, you don't really know the actual reason you're here, do you?" Takao's voice cut through the sudden heavy atmosphere.
"Well of course not. You two just randomly showed up, like always," Kagami said. "I'm assuming this is about that Akashi guy Kuroko refuses to talk about."
"Yeah, about that…you do know who Akashi is, right?" Takao's smile held anything but mirth as the two continued down the hallway. (Kagami didn't hear any yelling from the direction Midorima stomped off to, so that was good.)
"I just know he was the leader of Kuroko's guild, apparently really strong, and he refuses to talk about him at all." Kagami said, glaring down at the shorter man.
"I see. Shin-chan won't tell me anything, but let me let you in on at least one thing, Kagami. There's a lot of unresolved feelings and something going on between those two and Akashi. I won't ask, he still won't tell me and I've been living with him for years," Takao said. "I highly doubt until these things come to a head Kuroko's gonna tell you the truth."
The gunner just saying these things right out just frustrated him even more-Kagami wanted to know, being the one dragged into all of this. Having to fight with the Kiseki, and get wrapped up in weird politics. But most of all, he wanted to know what it really was that had haunted Kuroko at night.
And even worse than that, he couldn't deny the flames of jealousy that stung every inch of his skin. The way he wanted to react violently every time he saw Kuroko utter his name…how he wished he could go to his partner and remind him HE was better, he was with him this entire time, it didn't matter what went on between him and this other guy-
But even Kagami knew where to draw the line, despite everything Tatsuya said about him. And he didn't want to ruin this delicate thing he had going on. Instead, he forced himself to listen to Takao's rambles.
"Akashi pretty much murdered the King's General and set his head on a spike for everyone to see," Takao continued. "It was really brutal and unexpected. And this basically means he declared war on the kingdom."
Something about the finality in the pirate's voice sent a chill down Kagami's spine. "You mean…?"
"Yep! For all the Kiseki, and probably most of the guilds as well. It's not like any of us wanted the king to continue what he did, but hey, they didn't want another war. Guess I can't blame them after Verna got destroyed," Takao said.
"I don't really care. This finally means I can show him who's boss, right?" Kagami growled, actually relishing the thought of having a reason to take them on.
"Oh right. Foreigner. Listen. Don't just go around causing trouble for people, right? Shin-chan and I have enough problems without cleaning up your messes," Takao said, levelling him with a single glance. They've finally reached the dining area to sit in peace, while the only other inhabitant was that cat-eared bard from earlier.
"Hey! I'm not that heartless! But those bastards murdered everyone and they hurt Kuroko. If Akashi gave me an excuse, I'll take it. Besides, Teiko had tried to attack the king before. This is probably inevitable," Kagami finished.
Takao just gave a sigh and agreed. "Well, at least your heart's in the right place. I just hope we'll all manage to get through this in one piece."
Kuroko had stayed still the entire time Midorima had explained the situation, holed up in Kuroko and Kagami's room, far away from 'the ear-pinching bastard' as possible.
"Akashi-kun really did all of that?" Kuroko had wanted to deny it for the longest time, but he knew he couldn't. Not after all that he'd seen happen. It was just the impossibility of matching a name and a face to a horrendous deed.
Midorima was solemn for once, as solemn as someone could be with a giant red griffin feather sticking out of his hair, obviously the lucky item for the day. No comments or assholish remarks, just facts told in a somber voice. "Kuroko, that man was the one who ordered the attack on Seirin's guild. You know what this means."
Kuroko couldn't stop the shiver. He hadn't known, that actually. "Does this mean Akashi-kun-"
"If he doesn't know already, he's heard the rumors. No matter how much the people don't, walls talk and it would do you well to remember that before you go blowing up anymore tombs. There's rumors of a mysterious white mage everywhere," Midorima said, fidgeting with his feather.
"I see. I will need to get to Aomine-kun and Murasakibara-kun as fast as possible then," Kuroko said, determined. He hadn't known Akashi would move this fast-he could never tell what was going on in his mind. In reality, he didn't know what to think at all, but he couldn't sit around wondering. If Akashi had declared war, they would go after the other Kiseki members next.
"That's not a wise choice. I don't see why you feel the need to go after them when clearly they will be okay on their own," Midorima said harshly. "The only reason we would need to know where they are is so they don't get in their way."
Midorima-kun is worried, Kuroko thought. "It's okay, we need their help. Besides, since Akashi-kun made his move, we will need to find them as fast as possible before the king's men do."
"I am not worried! And what makes you think that they could even defeat Aomine, for that matter?" Midorima asked, his ears twitching in annoyance.
"I am afraid of what Aomine-kun would do. He is a loose cannon and you know that," Kuroko said, his heart hurting as he talked about his friend. "Besides, Kise-kun rushed off to meet him. Regardless of this happening, I was going to head for them next."
"Kise-I thought you said you cured him!" Midorima shouted, softly.
"I did. However in a lack of judgement, he heard about Aomine-kun and ran off. Me and Kagami-kun will find him," Kuroko said blandly.
"That idiot…" Midorima said, muttering a few other choice words under his breath. His expression had twisted to that of utter contempt, but Kuroko knew even without asking he was worried. "I hope when you do you will leave him in a hole to die for good this time."
The mage ignored him and moved on. "That's our next goal. Will you assist us?"
The Bel'ua huffed in indignation. "What type of man do you take me for? I always fulfill my duties to the highest capacity. I do everything in my power to-"
"Thank you, Midorima-kun." Kuroko cut him off before he could go into a bigger rant about his abilities and how luck and fortunetelling were amazing. He didn't want to deal with that now. "I just ask that you get along with Kagami-kun, please. He is my partner and has helped me save everyone, despite not knowing the full story."
Midorima looked reluctant to do it, but nodded anyway. His ears even twitched and flicked backwards when the next words fell reluctantly out of his mouth. "But you. You're okay, right? Even after hearing about this?"
He could do nothing but smile inwardly. "I haven't been fine for a very long time, but I expected this to happen sooner or later. I have my friends with me and some of them have returned to me. I know I can rely on them and that gives me strength."
Midorima's taped fingers fidgeted with his glasses and Kuroko didn't have to look very hard to see the skin on his face slowly becoming redder and redder. "Stop saying s-such embarrassing things! You are worse than Takao!"
Kuroko held a slight smile in his eyes. "I suppose so."
It was silent a little while longer before Midorima decided to break it for a final time. "What makes you think you can talk some sense into Aomine like that? I will not rescue you again, as I said."
"He used to be my partner, Midorima-kun. I have to try." He'd steeled himself long ago for this, when he'd left the Teiko guild for good. That maybe his friends wouldn't come back, and they'd turn into real monsters, but with one of them sitting right next to him, Kuroko felt like he could do anything.
And surprisingly, Riko agreed. Akashi's declaration of war had sent waves through the hunting communities of the kingdom, and all of them were scrambling to marshal their respective forces. In a desperate attempt to make it so they didn't dissolve into a bloody and useless civil war, she had contacted her father, who was apparently a hugely important and upstanding member of society.
They needed to combine all of their various forces for them to survive the storm of war that was most likely coming next and she was willing to do anything to protect Seirin.
"In the meantime, we possess a couple of advantages other guilds don't," Riko said, having drawn all of the full members, including their guests and the healer-tank duo, into the courtyard outside. "The most obvious being a white mage in our ranks. But that's not all. As you are well aware by now, the Kiseki are not only real, but are being actively rescued and recruited by Kuroko for the past month or so."
This led to murmurs in the crowd that made Midorima's ears twitch before Riko silenced them all with a loud clap. "Hey! We aren't here for rumors! The Kiseki are known as the most powerful hunters, and the kingdom has been hunting them down for some unknown reason. Adding to that, their leader just declared war on the crown, so you can be assured it will be two our advantage to find the rest of the members as soon as possible.
"Which of course, is our next plan. That much power will be godly on our side, especially in the chaos that is bound to erupt any day now. Before, I had Kuroko finding his old friends on his free time, but now it is an officially sanctioned duty. We need them here," Riko said with an air of finality. Hyuuga and Kiyoshi were standing behind her and the white mage tried not looking at anyone directly.
He was happy for the ability to hunt down his two remaining friends with all the power he could muster, but it was sad it had to come to this. He didn't blame Riko for coming to this conclusion, just as he didn't really blame Akashi for doing what he did-well, maybe a little. But such a bitter feeling only lasted a little while in his heart before it go chased out by an overwhelming sadness.
His life had gotten destroyed by war before, and he'd be damned if he was going to let it happen now. Besides someone needed to take care of these idiots. Of course, this brought up the issue of Kagami and how much Kuroko was going to keep from him. He was painfully slow on the uptake about a lot of things, but the tank had grown to read him very well from spending so much time together. Kuroko wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to keep everything secret.
So when Riko declared their training was going up a notch, he threw himself whole-heartedly into it, trying to forget about all the complicated feelings. Kuroko couldn't believe how much stronger he had gotten; not only learning how to use holy magic, but there were several things in the fight against Hanamiya he had never been able to do before.
Hmm, I hope the others will be impressed by me. And most of all, he wanted Kagami to be impressed. Every day his partner was growing stronger, even if he didn't notice it. Back when he'd first participated in the Festival, he'd been rough and filled with an animalistic power, but after these few short weeks, Riko had kicked him into shape. He still seemed wild, but…sleeker somehow. Stronger.
He could feel Kagami getting stronger every day and that just pushed himself to work harder so he wouldn't lose him, wouldn't have to survive with Kagami walking away from him just like the others had done, just like Aomine had done to him.
What he hadn't expected was for Takao and Midorima to join them. Not that the Bel'ua was one to shirk off duties or training, but he was notoriously horrible for working with other people. Still, Kuroko was impressed to see him-incredibly grudgingly-working with the other Seirin members and-definitely not grudgingly-showing off his amazing prowess.
It was during one of these sessions of Kagami egging the archer on to keep shooting things in weirder locations that Kuroko decided to retire to his room before he died in the middle of the courtyard. His magic had been getting far stronger, his shields being able to last against Hyuuga for a couple minutes now and healing all the scratches that Mitobe and Koganei always seemed to come with, but his stamina was still nothing to sneeze at. Probably just his size or something.
He laid down on the little futon that was provided, looking at the ceiling for several long moments until the room stopped spinning. Kuroko's eyes began to drift closed and he almost dropped back to sleep had he not heard the flute music coming from the other room.
His blue eyes blinked open again. He-that song!
Kuroko ignored the blanket feeling of tiredness and stood up, rushing out into the hallway. His bare feet padded almost silently on the floor as he ended up in front of his neighbors room. It really was a sad lapse of memory that he forgot who his neighbors were, but he'd been gone from the guild for a good amount of time.
He knocked briefly on the door and the flute suddenly stopped. Kuroko felt bad-he didn't want the music to stop, just to figure out who was playing it. The melody sounded sad, sweet, and familiar. It almost made him smile.
"Ah! Kuroko-kun! Can I help you?" Furihata, the Bel'ua bard had greeted him at the door, flute in his hands. Kuroko should've known, really-he was a bard, and of course bards played music. But this had been so otherworldly-and a song from his youth, so how?
"I'm sorry, was I bothering you?"Furihata's tail was swishing back at forth, so Kuroko mentally shook himself. No need to spook the other.
"That was my fault. I was thinking of something else. Quite the contrary, I rather enjoyed that song, Furihata-kun. I wanted to know who was playing it," Kuroko said politely. It took a bit for comprehension to set in Furihata's eyes but when it did they widened in delight.
"Oh, you heard me?! Hahaha, yeah, it was like one of the first songs I learned how to play," The bard said sheepishly, a hand on the back of his neck. "I'm surprised you know it."
"I am a fan of the play it's from. We just saw a production of it when we were visiting Kaijou," Kuroko continued, as the Bel'ua waved him into the room and made him sit down at the little table in the center.
"Oh really? So that's what all that ruckus was about. I heard the king banned it," Furihata laughed nervously. Clearly he wasn't used to talking to someone who had practically invited themselves into his room.
"Yes, but I don't care about that. It was one of the first songs Furihata-kun learned?" Kuroko quickly changed the subject, not wanting to linger on those rather disturbing memories for any longer than possible.
"Mhm. Our village, it's uh…kinda old. I know most humans-or elves, really-aren't all about that fate and superstitions stuff that we are…" Furihata said, fidgeting with his hands, around his flute, at the nape of his neck, even his own tail.
"It's fine. Midorima-kun is an avid believer. I know more than I need to." Way more, Kuroko mentally added, but at least it was one of the rabbit's slightly more endearing traits.
"Right. Forgot about that guy. He's strange. Anyway. They told me to come here because something was happening and my destiny would be entwined with Seirin's. I think they were probably trying to get rid of me but, well, Seirin's nice. I like it here," Furihata said.
"But that song, my mother taught it to me. She's sort of a bard like me, but doesn't really use magic. She said that song was really important and it would save someone one day, and maybe help change something. It sounds a bit too good to be true, right? But then you showed up. You realize Bel'ua have legends of white mages, right? Especially bards!" Said bard's eyes have lit up and Kuroko was taken aback for a bit. What kind of response was that?
"We're supposed to be support for them, you know? Like help them out with their tasks, but no one really wants to be a bard anymore cause the magic is so hard to learn," he continued, his tail finally falling still onto the floor. "I guess I kinda empathized with it a little bit. But that's not important. The thing is, I just really like that song. It's gonna be important, I know it!"
The white mage couldn't help but smile slightly at the other boy's enthusiasm. "I'm glad Furihata-kun knows it. It makes me feel at ease."
Furihata smiled back, a bright and easy thing. "Thanks! Then I guess it's done its job then."
The two of them fell silent, Kuroko sitting their comfortably, while Furihata still looked like he had something to say. His eyes darted every which way, a homage to his cat-like nature as they homed in on each little movement.
He waited patiently. The bard would say it when he felt comfortable to.
"I…uh, Kuroko-kun?"
"Yes?"
Furihata dropped his gaze again before setting the flute down on the little table. "I've been wanting to ask you this for a while, but I never really found the right time."
Kuroko vaguely remembered after Seirin had been attacked, he met Furihata for the first time, who had been acting oddly around him. The mage had wondered why, but swamped with returning his friends to normal and mountains of training, he quickly forgot. Still, he gestured for the other boy to go on.
"When I was travelling here, I….ran into some trouble. A lot of trouble. A big monster to be exact. I-I thought I was done for! Even if I did try to run away, but really. I mean, it was scary! But-but this guy. This figure came out of nowhere and killed it right before it could eat me, like a miracle," Furihata said.
"He..he had a red cape and dark armor."
Kuroko froze.
"I don't know who it was but I thought I'd been saved from the monster only to get killed at this guy's hand, especially when he pointed his sword at me. His eyes were so cold and scary! He walked forward and pointed it at me and all he did was ask who I was," The bard finished.
Kuroko's mouth was dry and his heart was beating so fast, he could feel it through his whole body. The heat prickling on his skin wasn't comforting at all, just made the room sway more around him. Nonetheless, he swallowed and gathered himself to ask the next question. "What happened?"
"I said 'I'm Furihata, a bard from the local village.' He seemed to pause at that. I couldn't move even though all I could see was his eyes. He said something about bards and then just…dropped his sword like that. He stared at me for a bit then just walked away. I never saw him again after that." The Bel'ua couldn't even look him in the eye anymore.
He was happy in part, so that Furihata wouldn't see the shaking in his limbs, though his face was stony like normal. The less, the better. "Furihata-kun, what color were his eyes?"
"Wait, Kuroko-kun, that's what I wanted to ask you! He…seemed familiar. And what parts of his magic I could sense…he seemed a lot like you. You know who he is, don't you? Was that really the Red Emperor?" Furihata practically demanded.
The white mage had to remember how to breathe again. How had Furihata figured it out so easily? The way they seemed alike. Could it really be possible that was-?
"Furihata-kun, my question is important. What color were his eyes?"
"Well, one was red and the other was yellow," Furihata said, looking quizzically at him.
Kuroko let out a sigh that seemed to shake his whole body, before closing his eyes. He felt so tired right now. Everything was weighing down on him. "Yes. I do know who that is. It was Akashi-kun, though I don't understand what he was doing at all."
"y-you mean like-the Akashi? I was right?" The bard squeaked.
He only nodded. Now that Furihata had confirmed it, his body had stopped going into panic mode and released all the tension at once, causing him to droop in his seat. If that really had been him, that means there's still hope left.
"Hey, Kuroko-kun, are you okay?" He felt the other boy's hands on his shoulders and blinked his own eyes open.
"I am fine, just tired. Training has been harsh. Do you mind if I sleep here tonight?" Kagami was most likely not going to return and he didn't want to spend another night alone. Furihata looked surprised, but readily agreed, pulling out an extra futon for him to fall on.
"I don't have any roommates, so it's fine," the bard said, gathering anything else Kuroko could possible need. The mage let him fuss for a couple of minutes before he stopped Furihata in his tracks, wanting to draw a proper conclusion to their conversation.
"That was most definitely Akashi-kun, Furihata-kun. You were right about everything, though I cannot tell you how yet. Please don't tell anyone else and….thank you." Kuroko said everything with a slight turn of his lips, causing the bard to freeze in place.
"W-why are you thanking me? I mean, it was just a random encounter…"Furihata nervously muttered.
"Because you gave me hope."
The most precious gift anyone could give him right now. The hope they could all come home again.
Neither of them knew what to say and the night kept continued, but as Kuroko felt the tug of drowsiness on his eyes, he knew something was missing. "Furihata-kun, could you please play that song again?"
The bard suddenly stopped, flustered." U-um, sure?"
Furihata looked confused, but he started playing again, quickly relaxing into the song. Kuroko let go too, drifting to sleep with the sound of the peaceful and familiar melody, remembering a dream with red eyes.
"I swear, all of you are trying to kill me before I turn twenty!" Kagami grumbled, finally stepping off the airship after a few hours perilous ride to the snowy regions. It had taken a few days preparation, but they had finally gotten enough information from both Midorima-who had insisted on coming-and Kasamatsu, who insisted that they leave him out of this, 'he had enough fucking idiots to clean up after.'
Kagami did not cling to Kuroko the entire airship ride over, despite the fact humans were MEANT TO STAY ON THE GROUND, he most certainly did not let out a loud cheer when they were at their destination and most importantly, he did not get stupidly excited when Kiyoshi told him Kuroko was sharing a room with him overnight.
Izuki and Kiyoshi's looks of amusement really didn't help the situation.
Those facts aside, it really was a nice inn-practically bigger than the Seirin guild itself. The common area was huge and had a giant fire pit in the middle, with seats and tables all around. Everything seemed to be lined with fur, even the people, giving it a strange rustic feel. Kagami had been to a lot of different places, but he'd never been this far up into the Touou region, which prided itself on its mountains and snowy interior.
With Midorima and Takao vanishing almost as soon as they landed, the party had arrived as soon as the sun was setting. Since it was basically useless to hunt dragoons in the dark, they holed up for the night in hopes of a good day tomorrow. He didn't mind, really-it gave him a chance to interrogate his partner.
The room was about as big as their one at home, so Kagami just set his sword and other stuff down next to the bed, sitting on it as he watched Kuroko do the same. The mage never questioned once why he was being watched-it was only after removing his shoes, gloves and headgear before the baleful blue eyes turned on him.
"Do you have something to say, Kagami-kun?"
Well, there went any element of surprise.
"Come on, you know I have a ton of questions," Kagami said, giving him a look. "I want you to tell me the deal with the play."
Kuroko was silent for a moment and he was almost afraid the boy wouldn't say anything.
"Kagami-kun, are you good at keeping secrets?" His soft voice asked.
"Um, I guess? I'm certainly not gonna spill anything you tell me. Have I ever before?" True, he knew he was a crude person but come on. That was a dick move for everyone. Instead, Kuroko just raised a hand to his mouth and let out a slight cough that probably could've been a laugh.
"Of course not." The mage settled further down onto the bed before answering. "That was my favorite play ever since I was a small child. I saw it once with my family before they were killed, and several times after when I was a member of Teiko. We all were practically raised together."
Kagami nodded, not really sure of what else to say. He was jumpy, of course, wanting to butt in and ask a million more questions, but that would ruin Kuroko's mood and he'd never get anything more.
"I like it because of its story. The main character was a white mage, discriminated and treated badly, fleeing from her troubles. And yet she came back, able to find love and companionship, even use her skills to save everyone. It ends a bit tragically, but she had always seemed happy despite that." Kuroko's gaze met his, and for once, Kagami could see a real emotion flickering in them.
Normally, he'd look away, but this time he couldn't. The mage's gaze held him captivated where he sat. "I suppose the parallel between our stories touches me somehow. And that poem I'm sure Kise-kun told you about…I used to repeat it a someone. It was a comfort, to know we would always be there for each other."
Somehow, Kagami was starting to figure out maybe just who this person was, and it made him feel all horribly twisted inside. Happy that Kuroko was sharing with him vulnerable and translucent feelings, and jealousy. A green, nasty thing clawing at his heart every time the white mage talked about this important person. And now that he knew the parallel between the boy and this mysterious stranger, he could feel his hope and that secret feeling at the bottom of his heart crushed systematically one-by-one.
And yet he couldn't look away.
"So I guess you like plays a lot. I can sorta see why you pulled that shit now," Kagami managed to force out, earning an incredulous gaze in return. It just made him feel even more disgusting.
"Kagami-kun, how very eloquent. Yes. It is important to me. Perhaps looking up the poem on your own accord will help you understand," Kuroko said. "I have a copy of it with me back at Seirin."
I'll do that, his mind wanted to say. "Yeah, whatever," was what came out of his lips instead. There was no flash of hurt or disappointment, and yet it somehow let Kagami down. How was he supposed to deal with this?
And still, he couldn't look away.
"We ain't letting this story end like that, okay?" He said, jolting both of them out of their reverie. "I'm your partner now. And we'll get them all back." It was like in a moment, seeing the wistfulness of the white mage in the play, how tormented she'd been, and it just brought him back to the look on Kuroko's face when he saw Kise for the first time like that. He had to have hope, right? Through all of this, his partner had chosen him, and after hearing such a sorry tale paralleled the boy's life so much, he couldn't let it go. Not now, or ever, and certainly not for some petty feelings.
Kuroko had hummed and let out a soft smile, and it was at that point he realized both of them had unconsciously leaned towards each other. The gap between the two large beds wasn't very big, so it allowed their faces to be close. And drawn under the soft moonlight, its luminescent blue touching the soft edges of Kuroko's cheek. "Thanks…for telling me."
The mage blinked, his lashes coming into sharp focus as they slid over his bright blue eyes. Kagami couldn't breathe for some reason, and his chest felt really tight for another reason, and the pit of his stomach wouldn't settle. It was like the moon was adding an angelic beauty to his partner's already amazing face and it made him nervous.
It also made him reach out and gently brush a few strands of sky blue with his fingers, noticed the softness of it as it brushed the tip of his skin. Kuroko's breath hitched and Kagami couldn't take his eyes away from the lips. He didn't want to look away, and every sense was tingling, whispering at him to gently lean forward, capture those lips with his own, go on, show him how you feel…
Kagami didn't know how he felt, or even how Kuroko did, but everything was too complicated to chalk it up to words, so he let his hand slide over to the side of his partner's face, gently laying there. The moon seemed to worship him, and so did his touch, sending a pleasant, tingling feeling when Kuroko leaned slightly into it. Whatever the past was, it didn't matter. He was captivated and fell hard, a long time ago. "I…"
There was a loud banging on the door, accompanied by Kiyoshi's voice. "Hey! I hope you two are sleeping, we've got a lot to do tomorrow!"
The two of them jolted so suddenly out of their trance that they nearly butted heads again. "Shut up! Go annoy someone else! Please!"
He even threw something at the door at Kiyoshi's laughing voice, though it didn't make him feel better. Not even making himself into a spring roll on the bed did, and it wasn't until he glanced over and saw Kuroko's fingers gracing his lips that he was able to bury himself into the pillow and practically embarrassed himself to sleep.
"You're welcome, Kagami-kun."
He probably should've listened. No, he definitely should have listened, but there was nothing in this world that wanted to stop him from going after the Touou gang, not even Kurokocchi. Not after this long.
It was partly Kise's longing in his heart for his beloved rival to come back again, but it was mostly anger. How dare he do that to me. How dare he leave like that and make Kurokocchi sad?! A year or so before, he would've gotten on the dragoon's case for dishonoring his friend's memory, but now that he knew that the white mage was alive, it changed a lot of things.
Kise had always been confident in his skill, but even he had misgivings about the inevitable fight. No matter how he tried, what magic he'd copied, he'd never been able to conquer Aomine. It was the fire that burned in his heart, with both fear and love, but he had to see his face once more. And if it would make his rival come back from the same horrid darkness he'd been entrenched in, well…it was the least he could do.
He missed the flash of light that jolted through the forest as it seemed to head down the mountains to the village at its foot, concentrating instead on the crunch of footsteps in the snow. His bare chest wasn't even feeling the cold at this point. His assassin's blood ran strong, and he climbed silent up into a tree, finally pinpointing the source of the noise.
The moment he'd been waiting for for the longest time; Kise could barely contain his excitement. All the dangers and warning signs that told him this was a terrible idea faded to white noise at the back of his head, and his pupils narrowed to slits as he focused on his prize.
There he was. Aomine Daiki in all his glory, helmetless, his dark skin glistening under the light snowfall. His sharp teeth flashed, reminiscent of Kise's out, and as the dragoon stretched, he could see the muscles of his arms pull taut as well the spines that lined the center of his back.
Truly, he was as beautiful as always. The thought of fighting him again made his head spin ever so slightly, but the dark elf pushed that away, thinking of Kuroko's hopeless look. The scar on his shoulder itched as he watched Aomine, followed by around three or four other dragoons, leap up the cliffside they were under. Kise was always jealous of dragoon's exceptional agility, almost on par with Midorima himself.
But, he thought angrily, as he copied their movements and flipped over to the top with ease, that doesn't really matter to me.
"Nice of you to finally show your face." A deep voice echoed across the cliff, and Kise only looked up to see Aomine smirking at him from a fair distance away, lance in hand. His gang was behind him, but Kise had eyes only for one person.
"I could say the same for you, Aominecchi, but you made Kurokocchi cry. I'm not gonna let that stand." Even from here, he could see the unnatural yellow glow to the dragoon's eyes that made him sick to his stomach.
"Aahh, shut it, Kise. When are you finally gonna shut up?" Aomine yawned, looking bored as he stared the other down. "If you want to get your ass kicked so badly, I guess I can oblige."
Kise just narrowed his gaze and snarled. This was horrifying, how little of the original spark he had left in him. The real Aomine….had this been him all along? Kise refused to accept anything like that-his past feelings were far too strong.
It was true. Love, even a sort of baseless infatuation could make you do strange things. He drew out his dual blades, slowly, casually, giving Aomine an almost sultry gaze the entire time. "I've been waiting for the day to finally surpass you, Aominecchi. So come on, let's fight!"
His laugh was harsh, dry, and hurt Kise's ears to listen to. Had this been what he looked like possessed by the darkness?
"Fine, if you're so eager. At least I'll have a fun fight for once. Imayoshi…" Aomine said, stepping forward and snapping one of his gloves closed. One of the dragoons behind him nodded. "Leave him to me. Make sure no one else interferes."
Kise didn't care about Imayoshi. He only cared about Aomine, and how he actually was taking this fight seriously. There was a warning bell going off in the tiny corner of his mind that wasn't swamped with battle-lust, but it was quickly ignored as the demon stepped forward.
He smiled, the beautiful one that made fangirls cry, letting Aomine's helmet fall down around his face before he rushed forward in a flurry of snow. Their weapons met in a resounding clash that echoed throughout the mountain as the battle for their rivalry began.
Please imagine Aomine in dragoon relic armor from ff14. That is all.
This story on AO3 has pictures and other tidbits included if you want to check it out.