Chapter 5: Enlightening Developments
"You showed him his room, right?"
Kuroko nodded.
Riko leaned against the window, gazing at the full moon. "Your thoughts?"
Kuroko walked up to her as she opened the window to let in some fresh air. "He's…different."
Riko snorted. "Have you ever seen a werewolf and vampire as cosy with each other as those two were? I was expecting it to be more violent. Makes one think, it does."
"I've never seen Kagami-kun before, so I doubt Aomine-kun has either," Kuroko supplied, his ears twitching as he pondered his own words. "Especially given Aomine-kun's father…I really don't see it happening," he winced.
Riko shot him a glance, and it lingered on Kuroko's back. Her nose twitched. "Not to mention his smell."
"It is strange," Kuroko breathed deeply, closing his eyes. "But it's also familiar. I just can't place what it reminds me of, though. Are you sure it was wise to send him on such an important mission first thing?" he asked.
Riko shrugged. "If he's hanging around, he needs to be acquainted with how things work around here. And he needs to earn his share if we're housing him. Plus…" her teeth flashed in a dry grin. "Since Aomine-kun is going to be there, I'm sure Kagami-kun will be fine. They can take care of each other."
Kagami hadn't planned on falling.
He'd been shown to his room by Kuroko, told to change into new jacket before being kicked out with vague directions. Kagami could now identify the smell of "vampire", so he had just followed that scent. It led him to a large mansion, bordered by tall rock walls that he could easily scale up. The place, along with its stone architecture, reminded him more of a fort than where someone lived.
There was some sort of commotion near the cast iron gates that seemed to be the main entrance, and Kagami could smell a faint trace of blood in the air. Deciding it was best to avoid it, he climbed a bit up the outer walls and slipped through the closest open window.
That was when he realised something important was going down, if the overly decorated room hadn't given it away. He sniffed, and was bombarded of dizzyingly strong waves of vampire scent, along with a human…no, sorcerer. He scrambled up onto the bare beams of the ceiling just as the huge doors slammed open for half a dozen people to file inside and sit down around the elongated table.
Kagami hunkered down. The beam was narrow, but if he concentrated, he could balance well enough. He perked up his ears and curled his tail around the wood for a better grip. His bit his tongue when they started talking.
"So, we're still missing Aomine…" the sorcerer, a man with bright red hair and a relatively small stature, sighed.
He knows Aomine. Kagami swallowed. The man's voice made Kagami's skin prickle. Strong. Fuck, he's strong. Maybe more than-
"He'll be here soon!" a woman's words interrupted Kagami's thoughts. "I'll wait for him outside. He's probably off looking for the sword."
Sword? What sword? Kagami leaned forwards, his crimson gaze scanning the room more attentively. There was a man with green hair sitting to the right of the sorcerer, but he smelled completely human. To the sorcerer's left was a tall man with purple hair, absently eating out of a bag of chips. The pink haired woman got up from her seat next to the human and placed a pale hand on the door to leave.
The second the door opened, Kagami's eyes widened. He knew the smell that wafted in, this spicy sweet scent that made him feel hot inside. His ears flattened against his head, and he forcefully tampered the urge to purr loudly.
Aomine stumbled into the room with the woman at his heels, muttering apologies and sheepishly sitting down right under Kagami. Kagami stared at him, following the way the artificial lighting highlighted the navy hair. His eyes slid down the long arms, the straight nose, and he was feeling strangely uncomfortable all of a sudden. He tried to readjust his position, his nails scrambling against the wood.
A flash of silver caught his attention. He jerked his head over to the sorcerer – his mind supplied the name Akashi as Aomine had called him earlier – and the man held up a beautiful katana in his hands.
With a blade of pure silver.
Kagami's eyes were glued to the weapon. His heart hammered in his chest, his palms started sweating. Fear pooled in his gut, alongside the curling warmth caused by Aomine's scent to make a strange concoction in his stomach.
The sorcerer was talking. Something about an attack, on a vampire…but…
Kagami had leaned too much, and his sweat had slicked his grip.
And so he fell, quite spectacularly, almost as if in slow motion, banging his backside and his head loudly on the wooden table beneath. He groaned, his vision swimming only to clear and see an upside down Aomine staring at him in shock.
Kagami couldn't help but give a pained grin. "Uhm…surprise?"
There was a second of pure silence. Then all hell broke loose.
"What the fuck, Kagami?!" Aomine yelled, standing up to send his chair clattering back.
"W-werewolf?" Midorima stuttered, for once having nothing smart to say.
Akashi was eerily quiet, but now he was standing. Mai-chan was in his hand, and suspiciously sliding out of its sheath.
"I-I can explain!" Kagami squeaked, rolling around to be on all fours, still on the table.
"You know him?" Momoi spluttered, her eyes wide as she backed up a little like Kagami was some sort of rabid dog.
Kagami lowered his head, his red ears twitching obliviously, those large cerise eyes downcast with embarrassment, his canines chewing his pink bottom lip.
For some reason, Aomine felt insulted by Momi's reaction. "It's fine Satsuki, he isn't going to bite!" He snapped, eyes sliding towards Akashi. The sword hovered in front of the sorcerer. "H-hey, Akashi, what are you-?"
Akashi's eyes flashed gold and the sword shot forwards in a wide arc.
Kagami's breath caught in his throat and he closed his eyes, bracing for the attack just as the blade flashed across his vision.
Kagami opened his eyes to see the sword clatter to the ground, a splatter of red blood dripping down the blade and pooling on the table. Then he looked up in surprise.
Aomine had stopped his own sword, with the palm of his hand. He hissed as blood welled up in the wound, curling his fingers into a fist and holding it close to his chest. His white shirt was ruined, but he was more focused on Akashi. The sorcerer blinked, as though he had been in a trance.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Aomine growled, ignoring the pain in his left hand. It would heal in some time, but it still hurt like a bitch. He shot a glance behind him, to see Kagami gaping at him. If that blade had cut the werewolf, he would've bled to death.
Akashi placed his hands on the table, closing his eyes and sighing. He wobbled a little on his feet, but it stopped after another deep breath. He looked up, his red gaze steady and sure. "I'm sorry. I wasn't going to hurt him, Aomine, just scare him. You came in the way, and so it cut you." His eyes narrowed. "I'm the last person who would hurt a werewolf. You did not have to worry."
Everyone had seen Aomine jump instinctively in the way, as though he wanted to protect a werewolf.
"Don't turn this on me," Aomine grumbled, glaring at the vampires around him. "And you keep your damn fangs to yourself, you bloodsuckers, you ain't drinking this ambrosia."
"I'm surprised you even know that word," Midorima pushed his glasses up, but given by the tight grip of his other hand on the table, he was clearly still shaken. "Go to the infirmary. I'll get someone to look at it."
Aomine clicked his tongue.
"Take the werewolf to the guest room," Akashi said, sitting down again. "I'll speak to him later. We must finish what we started."
"The werewolf has a name," Kagami mumbled, but Aomine shot him a look.
"Shut up, you're in enough trouble as it is," Aomine grabbed his forearm with his good hand and dragged him out.
He left Mai-chan on the table.
Aomine bit the inside of his cheek, hearing Kagami shuffling his feet behind him. What am I doing, protecting a werewolf? This ends today. This is the last I see of him. He pointed down the hallway. "Take the first left, and it's the first door to your right. Sit and wait like a good little doggy."
"Wait!" Kagami grabbed Aomine's shoulder as he turned around, deciding to ignore the "doggy" comment in favour of what was more important. "You're still bleeding."
Aomine frowned at the trail of blood droplets he had left on the floor. "Yeah, well, vampires don't heal as fast as you guys on a full moon, okay? It's going to take at least an hour with a cut this deep. So, if you don't mind, I need to get it wrapped up…" he took a small step back.
"I-I think I can help," Kagami ruffled his hair. "I mean, it's the least I can do, after you jumped in like that."
Aomine raised an eyebrow. "What? You have a first aid kit somewhere?" he drawled.
"Werewolf saliva has healing properties," Kagami snapped, grabbing Aomine's left hand. "So can I?"
Aomine stared at him blankly. "You…you're gonna lick it?" He tried to jerk his hand back but Kagami's grip was surprisingly strong.
"It works on humans!" Kagami scrunched his nose. "Why wouldn't it work on vampires?"
"Isn't…isn't it poisonous?" Aomine asked hesitantly.
"That's the other way around, dumbass," Kagami brought his hand up to his mouth, and Aomine's eyes followed Kagami's tongue as he licked his lips. "I'm…pretty sure this'll work. Even though it was silver, on you, it was like a normal cut. So it'll heal like a normal cut. Probably."
"Probably-?" Aomine's voice choked when Kagami's warm tongue pressed against his skin, and started licking. He couldn't stop looking at Kagami's tongue. He was riveted, bewitched. Kagami lapped at his blood, trailing his tongue along the long cut on his palm. It tingled, all down Aomine's arm. Aomine could hear his heart beating in his chest. His face felt hot, and he had no idea why.
Kagami was a werewolf. Aomine…Aomine wasn't supposed to like werewolves.
Right?
Kagami's hands held Aomine's wrist gently as he tilted his head, making sure to get at the entire wound. Slowly, gently, his tongue slid along the dark skin, and he finally raised his eyes to meet Aomine's sharp cobalt gaze.
They froze in that moment, just staring at each other with the silver moonlight trickling through the windows beside them, casting a surreal glow in their eyes.
Kagami dropped Aomine's arm. He cleared his throat, and when he looked away it felt like some spell had been broken. "I think it worked," he said, his voice a little breathy.
He was right. The cut was gone, like it had never been there.
Aomine moved without thinking. He cupped Kagami's face with his hand, swiping a thumb across red tinted lips. "You have my blood on you," he rasped, bringing his thumb to his mouth and licking it off without a second thought. He didn't miss Kagami's gaze following the movement attentively.
It tasted like his own blood, but it also tasted like something else.
Beneath that bitter tang was something sweet, like vanilla. Something intoxicating.
Was this how Kagami tasted like?
He wanted more.
Kagami wasn't a vampire. Kagami wasn't supposed to like drinking other people's blood.
Blood tasted strong, bitter, disgusting. He'd only licked his own wounds, and his friends' on occasion.
This was the first time he had tried it on a vampire, but for some reason…he'd really thought it would work.
And it had.
And it hadn't tasted disgusting.
It had tasted like blood, of course, but there was something different about it. A pleasant prickle that ran down his throat, a thrum in his veins, a heat under his skin as he licked Aomine.
It made him…not mind doing it again.
And when Aomine wiped the blood away from his mouth, Kagami couldn't stop looking, drowning in those dark blue eyes. His body moved forwards on his own accord, and he saw Aomine's eyelids droop a little, and they were inches apart. Kagami could feel Aomine's breath on his lips, so close-
"I believe we have a lot to talk about."
Kagami jerked back, almost tripping over his own tail.
What was he thinking?!
He turned around to see Akashi looking at him coolly, his arms held behind his back. He walked towards them, and into the gap that had been created between Aomine and Kagami.
Aomine was pointedly looking out the window like the other two didn't exist.
Kagami brushed imaginary dirt off his pants and nodded, feeling his throat clenching with anticipation.
"Aomine, take this. It is yours, after all." Akashi tossed the sheathed sword, which Aomine caught smoothly. "Midorima wants to talk to you." It was a clear dismissal. The vampire scowled at the blade, meeting Kagami's eyes briefly before nodding at Akashi. He seemed to hesitate, but bit his lip before turning around and leaving.
Akashi placed a hand on Kagami's back, and smiled. "Now, Kagami, was it? Let's go inside. I have a lot of questions for you."
Kagami looked behind him, but Aomine was already gone.
He'd have to do this alone.
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