"I met a boy whose eyes showed me that the past, present and future were all the same thing."

Chapter Three

To say Takao was horrified at his best friend's state was an underestimate. When the two didn't come to the library, and weren't in the hallway where he had left them, he searched for them only to be surprised to find them in the infirmary. He had only left them for a few minutes and they were supposed to be talking, not looking like they've just fought a pack of delinquents.

Furihata's clothes were partially tattered on one side, he could see some small shards of glass still glinting in the jacket he was holding on his bandaged arm. The previously white cloth was now dyed in red. The new guy, Akashi, didn't look in a much better state, actually his injuries seemed to be the spitting image of Furihata's.

"You can't let Kasamatsu-sensei see you in this state!" Takao finally said after he regained his senses. "He's gonna flip!" Furihata scratched his cheek sheepishly, knowing Takao is most probably right.

"I have some spare shirts you can borrow," Midorima said, gesturing to one of the cupboards in the corner of the room.

Akashi nodded and opened the cupboard and grabbed two white shirts from the shelves. After making sure the size is seemingly ok, he tossed one of the shirts to Furihata and proceeded to dress himself. The pain in his arm was thankfully dull, he shouldn't have much trouble changing.

"Whoa! Did you always have that mark on you, Furihata?" Takao exclaimed, pointing his index finger at Furihata's chest.

Furihata flinched and quickly covered his chest with the shirt. What was he supposed to do now? How was he to explain this to Takao? He could feel his hands shaking as he averted his eyes away from Takao's piercing ones. He could sense that Akashi was also caught off guard by the question, if his tense shoulders were anything to go by.

"Whatever," Takao dismissed his earlier question with a shrug,"You two need to hurry or you'll be late to class,"

Furihata couldn't even stop the sigh of relief that escaped his lips. He and Akashi quickly put on their clothes and said their quick thanks to Midorima-sensei.

"Aren't you coming?" Furihata asked, noticing Takao never attempted to follow them outside. Takao scratched the back of his head with a nervous laugh.

"My stomach is upset!" He said in a haste. "I'm gonna take a pill and then follow you two," Furihata nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

Sometimes, Furihata's gullibility really worried him. But this was one of the times he was glad for it. Takao turned to look at the distressed green haired man.

"Ne, Shin-chan. When you asked me to keep an eye on Furihata, was it because of this?" He asked, a serious expression replacing his once cheerful facade. Midorima only nodded, letting out a tired sigh.

"Will this happen again? Will they keep on getting hurt?" Takao asked, almost shouting. His body trembled the moment Midorima nodded again.

Midorima took off his glasses and placed him on his desk. It was only the first day of this curse and he was already feeling quite tired and Takao's worry about his best friend did add another amount of pressure to his already stressed-out mind. Not that he could blame Takao, he was only a human after all. He wouldn't understand. Another sigh escaped his lips.

"I'm sorry...I-I shouldn't have involved you,"

Takao forced himself to relax a little, noticing Midorima's troubled form. Even though it was his fault for not warning Takao about this, he knew Midorima won't keep things from him unless he wasn't allowed to reveal them, the guy was a bad liar, really, at least to Takao who was able to read him like a book.

Takao placed his hand on Midorima's. The touch startled him and he looked up to find Takao's usually peircing eyes had took on a much gentler gaze. Midorima could feel the tension leaving his muscles just by this simple gesture. Takao did have that power to affect him, he was special after all. Not that he'll ever admit it to the other's face.

"Are they...going to be alright?" Takao asked, giving Midorima's trembling hand a small squeeze.

"I...I don't really know,"

...

They managed to be back in class before the end of their lunch break. They didn't really eat anything though to be calling it a lunch break. Furihata made a mental note to cook extra rice for tonight's dinner, just thinking about food made him hungry already. Their clothes were discarded, Akashi assured him he'll buy them both a new uniform, now that theirs were ruined beyond repair.

His legs stopped in front of his seat. Furihata was seated in the middle row of the class near the big window. Okay, maybe it was a regular window, but after what happened in the hallway, he wasn't very keen on going near any windows for the time being. His legs were petrified.

The sudden weight on his head startled him. He looked up to find Akashi staring at him, his right hand resting on Furihata's head and it took him longer than it should to realize Akashi was patting him. A reflexive blush made it's way to his cheeks as Akashi threaded his fingers through Furihata's brown strands for comfort.

"We can trade seats. You don't have to force yourself," Akashi said in a calming tone.

Furihata gazed into Akashi's sincere eyes. He wasn't making fun of him, he was genuinely offering his help which made Furihata relax because he didn't have to deal with his mini-trauma any time soon. Akashi continued to stroke his hair and he was suddenly very conscious of the long fingers patting him softly. It was relaxing to say the least, but they were in class and some of the students were eying them suspiciously. He quickly slapped Akashi's hand away.

Akashi didn't really know why he decided to comfort the boy, but he was glad he did when he saw relief taking over Furihata's visage. Furihata, though, avoided his eyes soon after and slapped the hand playing with his hair, albeit not with too much force, a pink blush adorning his cheeks as he quickly sat in Akashi's seat.

"T-thank you," It was said in almost a whisper that Akashi wondered if he was hearing things. Furihata was hunching his head low, his face still a bit warm.

Akashi stared at his hand that was petting Furihata's soft strands just moments ago.

If it always caused reactions like this from the brunette, he might as well do it more. He thought to himself with a smirk.

Furihata's earlier nervousness disappeared as Takao entered the class and engaged in a friendly chat about books with Furihata. Furihata giggled as Takao told him he fell off the stepping stool when he tried to place a book on the upper shelves.

Akashi found himself thinking that this reaction, too, wasn't...unpleasant.

...

Thankfully the rest of the school day was uneventful. No random flying objects, angry animals or speedy vehicles whatsoever; Furihata thought speedy vehicles were a bit too much considering they were still inside the building and on the second floor but nevertheless he was glad he had to only deal with boring classes and nagging teachers.

Akashi was amazing, Furihata noticed. For a guy who just transferred into a new school, he was having no trouble keeping up with the lessons. He wasn't the only one who was impressed; the girls in his class made it very clear that they probably going to start a fan club of the new transfer student. They surrounded his seat after the classes had ended for the day and stammered Akashi with questions about himself and his former school, Akashi replied to every question with ease as if his answers were per-prepared.

Furihata learned Akashi used to study at Rakuzan, a prestigious boarding school in Kyoto. He couldn't really understand why he left his school to come to their barely known, new school. The girls seemed to wonder the same thing as they asked Akashi of the reason why.

The redhead instantly shifted his gaze towards Furihata who was stuffing his books in his bag, half listening to the conversation. The minute he heard Akashi's answer though, the book he was holding in his hand dropped to the floor.

"I did it for Furihata-kun," was Akashi's blunt answer, delivered without a shred of hesitation. "I transferred so I could see him,"

His answer promoted a few squeals from the girls and suddenly Furihata felt like a deer in the headlights; he couldn't stop the blush under the knowing gazes of the girls which caused even more misunderstanding to occur.

Maybe Furihata really wouldn't mind if a truck came through their window any time soon.

"Nani, Nani, What's going on here?" came the curious voice of Kise that made the girls squeal at the appearance of their favorite teacher. "Furihatacchi, I came to pick you up. Senpai is waiting by the gates," He said with a wink, which made the girls squeal.

"Ah, okay," Furihata said, quickly grabbing his bag, eager to get away from the prying girls' stares.

"I'm going too. I have to make sure you reach home safely," Akashi said as he stood up to leave. His words caused another round of squeals and whispers and the color soon returned to Furihata's cheeks.

He grabbed Akashi by the wrist and dragged him outside the classroom and towards the gate before Akashi could say anything else. Kise followed close by trying to suppress his snickers.

...

"I don't understand why you are so upset. I only stated the truth," Akashi said as the two, now, walked side by side down the street leading to the station. Kise and Kasamatsu were engaged in their own conversation walking a few paces away behind them.

Furihata let out a frustrated sigh as he stared at Akashi in disbelieve; the redhead was still fixing him with a puzzled look. Well maybe Akashi wasn't really trying to mess with him and was only so painfully blunt and oblivious to the scary minds girls could posses.

"No, just...try not to say those things in front of the girls, most of them are secret fujoshis you know!" Furihata ruffled his own hair as he thought of the terrible, inaccurate rumors those girls will spread. Akashi, still, looked confused.

"Forget it," Furihata waved his hand dismissing his earlier statement. "That reminds me, you said you transferred to see me, what did you mean by that, then?"

The confused look was soon replaced with seriousness which put Furihata on guard for some reason. "The first time I heard about the curse was from my grandmother half a year ago. My father always dismissed her worries and stories and I, too, thought nothing of them...that was until a few weeks ago when the mark first appeared," Akashi said glancing at his wrist where the flower was drawn.

Furihata nodded in acknowledgement and waited for Akashi to continue. "Apparently, every hundred years the faith of our families would intertwine for a year." Akashi paused. "I don't remember much of the stories myself, but she said I had to look for a boy my age named, Furihata Kouki, which is exactly what I had done. Today after I saw the same mark on your chest I came to believe all her stories were true,"

Furihata took a moment to let all the new information sink in. So the curse was related somehow to their families and having it happening every hundred years meant it had happened times before. He didn't have any relatives left besides his aunt's family he was currently living with. If his parents were still alive, would they have told him about this curse too?

"But, why us? Why our two families?" Furihata asked. Akashi looked thoughtful for a minute before fixing his eyes on the road once again.

"I remember she said something about a binding contract between our ancestors. My father didn't appreciate her filling my head with her 'nonsense' and I was forbidden from visiting her ever since, therefor I don't know the exact details,"

Furihata's eyes widened with shock, even though anyone hearing about a curse put on his son wouldn't be happy, he didn't have to go that far and prevent his son from seeing his old grandmother.

"You don't have to look like this, Furihata," Akashi reassured with a smile that said he understood Furihata's thoughts without him voicing it out. "Now that her words were proven right, I plan on visiting her soon enough and I'm sure my father won't object,"

Furihata couldn't stop the smile from blooming on his face, relieved the situation won't cause family disputes amongst other things. Akashi smiles as well and ruffles Furihata's brown strands.

"You are a kind person, Furihata," He said as he withdrew his hand. Furihata averted his gaze, surprised by the sudden compliment. He ran his fingers through his hair in order to tame the messiness Akashi caused and distract himself from thinking about the fleeting touch.

Their small exchange though, didn't go unnoticed by the narrowed eyes of Kasamatsu.

"Oi, Kise. Who's that kid walking with Kouki?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"Oh! That's the new transfer student, Akashi Seijuurou!" Kise answered, "Some girls told me his family is super rich, like he's an heir or something!" He continued with enthusiasm.

"How come they're friends so soon then?" Kasamatsu asked, ignoring the sparkles coming out of Kise's eyes. Those excited eyes, though, suddenly took on a teasing look.

"What's this, Senpai? Are you jealous he found a new friend? Your brother complex sure is strong~" He sang the last part which earned him an instant hit from a blushing Kasamatsu.

"I don't have a brother complex BAKA!"

"Don't worry senpai! Even if Furihatacchi abandons you for another guy, I'll always stick to your side," Kise said after quickly recovering from Kasamatsu's usual violence.

The older male let out a big exhausted sigh and picked up his pace, after shoving Kise off of him, hoping he'd reach the station a little sooner.

...

The station was very crowded, but that came at no surprise. Students usually left at this hour and so the station was full of teenagers waiting for their train home.

Furihata always disliked riding the train at this hour. Normally, he'd stay behind and watch Kise train the basketball team, then walk home with Takao, Fukuda and Kawahara. But seeing as Kise cancelled basketball training for this week, in order for the players to study for the midterm exams, he was stuck dealing with the crowd, bumping into people and having people bump into him. He really didn't like jam-packed spaces.

A man's shoulder hit Furihata's a little too hard causing him to stumble a bit before he was steadied by an arm placed around his waist. Furihata looked up and found Akashi staring down at him with a frown. He guided him away from the sea of people and towards their platform, all without removing his hand.

"You should be careful. Don't let your guard down," Akashi said in a firm tone.

"Ok." Furihata said with a nod, "Thank you,"

Their train would be for another minute but he still couldn't spot his brother or Kise. Sometime ago, and in the rush of people, they got separated. He frantically looked around him, searching for the familiar figure of his brother and sighed in relief when he saw Kise among the crowd making his way towards them. Kise was a good foot taller than most people and so he could be easily spotted, Furihata was thankful for that.

His thoughts, though, were interrupted by a loud feminine scream. He turned his head in time to see the woman on the floor pointing towards a man running in his direction.

"He's a thief! He stole my bag, somebody stop him!"

Furihata tried to stand in the running man's way, but instead of stopping, the man shoved him out of his way a little too hard. This time, no one stopped him from stumbling and he fell off the platform, near the rails of the oncoming train.

"KOUKI!"

He heard Akashi's voice scream his name as he was massaging his abused butt. Looking up, he realized he had fallen quite a distance, he was glad he ended up with just a sore behind. But as he tried to stand, a sharp pain jolted in his leg and he found himself unable to stand.

But what terrified him the most were the rumbling noises and the sound of train's whistle. The train he was supposed to be boarding was now approaching at a dangerous speed. The ground beneath him started vibrating vigorously and Furihata was struggling to get out of the train's way in time.

Just when he was about to give up, he was suddenly pulled up away from the rails and into the warm embrace of someone just as the train passed them by, he could tell by the red tresses that it was Akashi holding him close in the narrow space between the platform and the rails. Akashi tightened his grip on Furihata's shoulders as the train hissed and screeched, finally coming to a full stop.

Furihata let out the breath he was holding. He was just seconds away from actually dying.

When Furihata tried to get out of Akashi's grip, it only tightened. Akashi's arms around him trembled, he shifted his head and buried it in the crook of Furihata's neck and gave it a lingering kiss before he parted to stare at the brunette in his arms, his eyes taking in every inch of his form, making sure he wasn't harmed in any place, it was only then that he let go, albeit reluctantly.

Furihata was sure he appeared as flustered as he felt. Akashi has suddenly kissed and nuzzled his head into his neck. To make matters worse, he was looking at Furihata like a concerned mother checking her child for injuries. The redhead wasn't saying anything, just continued staring at him with his mismatched orbs.

Mismatched eyes...Furihata was sure Akashi's eyes were both red just a minute ago. This was happening too much to be a trick of the light. The air around Akashi always seemed to change whenever Furihata saw him with dichromatic eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked tugging a strand of hair behind Furihata's ear. Furihata couldn't find the voice to say anything so he nodded. The worry in Akashi's eyes was replaced with relief as the tension left his shoulders.

Akashi continued to stare at his eyes and Furihata found himself unable to look away, gazing deep into the pools of red and gold. He was only woken up from his trance when the station guards and the train's driver came to check on them. Suddenly aware that they were far lost in their own world with many people around, both males averted their eyes, a vague blush adorning their cheeks.

Akashi was the first one to recover as he assured the men they were both ok. When Furihata caught a glimpse of his eyes, they were both red again.

They were safely escorted back to the platform where Kasamatsu hugged him the minute he saw them.

"Kouki you idiot, don't act so recklessly!" Kasamatsu said letting go of Furihata and giving him a light punch on the head.

Furihata only laughed nervously as a response, his mind still occupied with Akashi's strange behavior. The said redhead poked his shoulder lightly, making Furihata turn to look at him. He was met with a soft gaze as Akashi showed him the flower on his wrist, now with only five petals instead of six and Furihata understood that they'd just overcame their very first misfortune.

Even though he should feel reprieve that they overcame their first misfortune, it only seemed to add more anxiety to his mind as, now, there was no way in denying that this curse is real and is happening.

If he nearly died facing the first one, would he really be able to stay alive till the time he turns 18? He wondered.

One misfortune down, 11 to go ~
Any feedback is appreciated ~ Thank you so much for reading :3
Let me know what you guys think, if any of you wishes for a certain misfortune to befall them , I'm open for suggestions