Every day, Seijuuro's routine is to wake up early and go straight to his first work. He wash his face, change his clothes and then go to work at one of his jobs which was as a deliveryman bringing milk and bread, house by house, village by village. Thanks to his new jacket, it became easier for him to move about and the cold weather was a lot more tolerable. After he finished delivering the goods, he was allowed to eat the left-overs from his delivery. That would be his first meal to consume until he sold all of his roses from his second work. Afterwards, he would head over to the flower shop to sell flowers on the street.
Sometimes, if all the flowers he sells have been sold out, he visits the library to spend his free time there to read and learn. One of few people who dared to approach him was the library manager, Kiyoshi Teppei. The brown-haired man would teach him to read and write and always treated him very well. He would often give him books and learning tools like pencils, ball-pens and notebooks. Kiyoshi would also give him homework and activities to do.
"Hello, Kiyoshi-san. Good afternoon."
"Ah! Seijuuro-kun, it's been a while since the last time you visited here," Kiyoshi smiled at him which greatly warmed Seijuuro's heart. He would always crave for a father like Kiyoshi.
"Uh—I didn't bring my homework… I left it at home because I didn't expect to finish my work early."
"It's fine. Oh! Before I forget," the taller man reached for a box under the shelf and placed it on the counter "Here."
"What is this, Kiyoshi-san?" Seijuuro was confused and tried to peek at what was inside the box.
Kiyoshi opened the box and reveal a puppy "Arf!"
The red head eyes widen in surprise.
"My sister gave him to me but my wife is not fond of dogs that's why I brought him here. So, I am now to convince you to adopt this dog."
"…"
"Seijuuro-kun?"
Seijuuro touched the dog's head and ruffles its fur. Warmth. He felt warmth radiating from the dog and it felt like he finally found a companion in his life. "Thank you, Kiyoshi-san. I'll gladly accept him."
The brunette handed over a blanket, some clothes, books and a couple of groceries to Seijuuro before the redhead left along with the dog.
He felt so much happiness because he's not alone anymore and let a smile radiate in his face. The dog walking beside him wagged its tail, happy and contented with his new owner. Seijuuro choose to walk down a narrow path - a shortcut to his home - when a group of people blocked his way.
"Yoh kiddo—" a man with a cigarette on his mouth placed his arms on Seijuuro's shoulder in a mock-friendly manner.
"Let's cut to the chase… give us your valuable things and we will leave you unharmed," a bald man said holding the boy's chin.
The dog barked but he was stopped by a man smaller than the other two and kicked the poor dog away from them.
"Ah—my dog!" Seijuuro's knees couldn't move to help his dog. He was afraid and didn't know what to do in this kind of situation "I-I don't have big cash on me… believe me… I'm poor," he managed to take a step away from the robbers.
"Not so fast pretty boy…" the man punched him in both the gut and face. Still not satisfied with what they did, the smaller man continued to hit Seijuuro relentlessly until the red-haired man fainted. They took all his things - the money he got from his jobs and the things given to him by Kiyoshi. He was left by the side of a large trash bin along with his dog which was barely breathing.
Seijuuro reached for his dog and placed it on his lap. He was so happy earlier but now, the only companion he had might just die in his arms. 'Am I really cursed? Why is this happening to me?' he asked himself. He felt like crying. He wanted to cry from all the hardship in his life. He wanted to bury himself, bury himself so deep that the cruel world wouldn't be able to find him and would finally leave him alone and he would be able to find happiness.
'I want to die'
Those words kept on repeating in his mind until he closed his eyes, hoping for eternal rest and reprieve from the harsh world around him.
"Hello… yes father, of course I look into it. Yes, I'll get back to you on that when I have an update." Tetsuya rested his back against the back of the car seat. His head ached a lot because all the problems of the company had been assigned to him. He needed rest, needed to clear his mind. "Non, stop the car on that street."
"As you wish sir," Noshiro (Non is the nickname for Noshiro given by Tetsuya) pulled the car over and Tetsuya stepped out and then told him to go back to the house. Noshiro insisted but the bluenette said that he would walk from there back home. He proceeded walking until his feet dragged him to a dark alleyway that was connected to the main street.
Tetsuya heard a dog barking in a low tone as if it was trying to get his attention. When he reached the source of the sound, Tetsuya was shocked because he saw an unconscious man full of bruises and wounds.
"Hey! Mister… Oh God… Is he breathing? Shit! Wait, I must call Non he would know what to do." Tetsuya quickly dialed his bodyguard's number "Hello, Non come here quickly!" After Tetsuya told Noshiro where he was, and lay his coat on the ground and put the dog on it. He grabbed his handkerchief and a small bottle of alcohol (liquor) from his pocket to act as first aid disinfectant. Dabbing the alcohol on his handkerchief, he tried to disinfect the man's wounds.
After a few minutes, Noshiro arrived "Tetsuya-sama, what happened? Are you alright?"
"Non, hurry, let's bring him to the house and call a doctor!"
"I understand."
"And call a vet too."
"… Yes sir" at first the larger man was confused but when he saw the dog, he didn't hesitate to dial the number of his friend's doctor and the number of an on-call veterinarian.
Tetsuya and Noshiro immediately put Seijuuro's unconscious body in the car and drove straight to Tetsuya's household.
Seijuuro opens his eyes and felt like he was floating in the air. The place where he's sleeping on is so soft and very comfortable. At first, he thought that he was dead but when his wounds started to itch, he knew for sure that he was still alive. He was confused why he wasn't on the street where he fainted.
"Good morning Mister, are you alright? Do your wounds still hurt?"
Seijuuro was surprised and quickly moved to the corner of the bed.
"I'm sorry for startling you. My name is Kuroko Tetsuya. I found you unconscious on the street."
"… So-Sorry and thank you very much sir… I-I'm so sorry for acting like that…" Seijuuro bowed, his head meeting his knees.
"Your name?"
"Ah—my name is Seijuuro"
"Seijuuro…"
"I don't have a surname."
Tetsuya look at the red-haired man and there was something about the man. His heart was telling him that he knew the man, that he knew the familiar flaming red color of his hair.
"Have we met before?" Tetsuya asked.
"I'm afraid not sir."
"I see, but I think I've seen you before. By the way, why don't you have a surname?"
"I grew up in an orphanage but after it closed, I had to live alone. The only thing I know about myself is that my name is Seijuuro, I'm twenty four years old and my birthday is on December 20."
"Wow, but that's tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow?"
"Your birthday… we must celebrate it, Seijuuro-kun!"
"But sir… I'm just a stranger so why—"
"Tetsuya… call me Tetsuya…"
"T-Tetsu…ya..."
"From now on, we'll be friends…" Tetsuya decided, delightedly shaking Seijuuro's hands as a sign of their newly built friendship. "And before I forgot…"
"ARF! ARF!" the dog happily jumped on Seijuuro's lap.
"My dog!" The red head smiled at Tetsuya "Thank you so much, Tetsuya…"
"You're welcome, Seijuuro-kun"
The blessing that Seijuuro had been waiting for finally arrived in the form of an angel who saved him from hell. Kuroko Tetsuya.
'I think I found the hope and light for this worthless life of mine. Maybe he's the one… my angel...'
The world could die and everything may lie
Still you shouldn't cry
'Cause time may pass
But longer than it'll last
I'll be by your side
Forever by your side
Credits: 214 by rivermaya
Beta-ed by: HeteroChromium