Here with a new chapter :3 Thank you to everyone who review/favorited/followed you guys are awesome ! This will be the first of what I call the Kyoto chapters :3 Since they were traditional clothing - A Haoiri is a jacket-like piece of clothing wore above a kimono or a yukata for further warmth.

And also KICCHIN OMG! I'm in love with all your stories! I'm so happy you're enjoying mine, so honored!

"One knows so little. When one knows more it is too late."

Chapter 6

"Do you have everything you need? Made sure you didn't forget anything?" Kasamatsu asked frantically while handing the bags to the brunet boarding the train.

Furihata nodded for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. His brother hadn't stopped asking him questions about his trip's schedule and the like since early this morning. This was the first time he'd ever gone someplace this far without Kasamatsu and he could understand his brother's worry, but he was sure he was going to miss his train if Kasamatsu didn't stop.

"Senpai, he really should be going by now. The train will leave," Kise said, placing a hand on Kasamatsu's shoulder.

Kasamatsu sighed and backed away from the platform, finally allowing Furihata to board without further questioning. This was one of the times he was glad Kise was friends with his brother.

Kise and Kasamatsu waved goodbye as the train finally departed. Kasamatsu's shoulders slumped as he kept staring in the direction the train left.

Kise's eyes caught a glimpse of green hair moving in the crowds of people and smirked. He turned to Kasamatsu who was still staring into the horizon and engulfed him in a tight hug, catching him by surprise.

"Oi, what are you doing?!" Kasamatsu asked, trying to pry Kise's arms form around his shoulders.

"You don't have to be so lonely, Senpai! I'll spend every second until Furihatacchi's return with you!" Kise said, in his usual cheerful tone.

"Who'd want that?!" Kasamatsu groaned, but made no move to push Kise away as the two started walking in the direction of the entrance.

Midorima opened the door to his room and took his sunglasses off, replacing them with his usual glasses. He placed Kerosuke, a green frog and today's lucky item on his desk before pulling the chair and sitting down, probing his chin on the back of his hands, still unaware of the presence in his room.

"Are you ignoring me, Shin-chan?"

Midorima's head turned to the direction of the bed to find Takao sitting on it, with his legs crossed, fixing him with an unimpressed look. Midorima hadn't really seen him when he first entered the room. Just how much were his thoughts preoccupied?

"Takao?" He asked in a slightly confused tone. "How did you get in here?"

The dark haired male shrugged and pointed in the direction of the small balcony connected to the bedroom through glass doors. Midorima glared.

"You could have waited for me to get home and entered the house in a civilized way," He scoffed, but Takao didn't seem affected by his seemingly harsh words, instead he chuckled.

"Says the guy who usually flies to places," He said, teasingly. Midorima turned his head to avoid Takao's grey eyes looking into his and pushed his glasses further up his nose, which was a gesture Takao recognized as one of embarrassment.

"I d-don't do that all the time!" Midorima said, rather defensively. "In anyway, jumping from one balcony to another is dangerous!"

Takao's expression took on a clear teasing one which made Midorima even more flustered.

"Is that the real reason then? Shin-chan's worried about me?" Takao said getting up from the bed and walking to where Midorima was sitting. "If I ever get hurt, I could always come to you, Mi-do-ri-ma-se-n-sei,"

But the flustered and embarrassed reaction Takao had hoped to get out of Midorima didn't come. Instead Midorima looked straight at him, his green eyes glinting angrily. Takao's heart skipped a beat at Midorima's expression.

"Don't even joke about getting hurt," He said, his eyes narrowing at Takao.

"O-okay okay! I'm sorry," Takao said and left his hands in front of him, only then does Midorima's eyes attain their usual softness.

"So, did you see the two of them of?" Takao asked after a few moments of silence. Midorima nodded. "You sure you don't want to follow them?"

"Yes," Midorima said. "There are people over there who would keep an eye on the both of them," Even though he said that, his face twisted with worry.

Takao heaved a sigh. "Then, why are you so nervous about this trip?"

Midorima lowered his head, his green bangs hiding his expression from Takao's eyes.

"It's the place where everything began,"

Takao wished he could ease the burden from Midorima somehow, but he couldn't even remotely pretend to understand the real deal of what was happening. So offering any useful information on the matter or any of the like would be impossible to him. But, there was something he could do, that could stop Midorima from over thinking…

Takao sat on the desk, and took off Midorima's glasses for him in a swift move. Midorima who was surprised by the action turned to look at him, eyes squinting in order to get better focus of Takao's face.

"What are you doing?" Midorima groaned. Takao only lowered himself closer, so Midorima could see the haughty grin and his glazed eyes.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Takao said, placing Midorima's glasses on the desk with care. "I'm distracting you,"

Takao leaned in, capturing Midorima's lips in his, stopping any potential protest from leaving Midorima's mouth.

Not that he really was against the idea.

Furihata sighed as he sat down in his seat across from Akashi, who looked invested in the book he was holding between his hands.

He was surprised when Akashi had suggested going on a trip with him to Kyoto during the school's winter break. The redhead had explained it was the perfect opportunity for asking his grandmother about further information concerning the curse, as well as a good chance for him to learn more of Akashi's life and continue their earlier talk without interruptions.

Somehow, Furihata knew (or wished) it was about the second personality thing Akashi's father had mentioned the day of the party.

Well, if anything he'd already learned he and Akashi shared the love of books.

"Your brother worries excessively," Akashi said, not raising his head from the pages of his book. "I'm surprised he'd allowed you to accompany me,"

Furihata cringed a bit at the memory of Kasamatsu's initial rejection. "He was really against it. But, I've worked together with Kise-san to convince him,"

Even if Kasamatsu would never admit it, he'd always had a soft spot for the blonde. Somewhere along the way of their relationship, he became weak against the persistent Kise. Of course, Kise was quick to take advantage of that and normally got Kasamatsu to agree to his every whim. Even Furihata wasn't that lucky. Furihata always suspected that their feelings went deeper than the senpai-Kouhai relationship they claimed to have. But, his suspicions were neither proven right nor wrong.

"It's understandable. Given he's your legal guardian after your parent's death," Akashi said.

Furihata nodded once, then abruptly stopped and stared at Akashi who was still reading into his book. Upon sensing Furihata's eyes on him, he lifted his head to meet the wide-eyed Furihata with a confused stare of his own.

"Is there anything wrong?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How did you know? I never told you about my family situation before,"

Akashi closed his book and placed it to the side while looking at Furihata, as if he was debating on whether to answer his question or not. He finally crossed his arms in front of his chest and sighed.

"My grandmother only ever told me your name. I hired a private investigator to find you," He said in a calm voice. "How else did you think I got to know where you went to work the first time we met?"

Furihata looked at him in disbelief, flabbergasted at the calmness in his voice. Like Momoi who admitted she'd been watching his every move; Akashi, too, had him on surveillance for who-knows how long. His first impression of Akashi as a stalker wasn't completely wrong after all, only now he knew he was a rich stalker instead. After all that's happened, he really shouldn't be so surprised.

"I-I don't believe you!" Furihata said, running his fingers through his hair, "That's ridiculous!"

Akashi chuckled as he picked up his book, which caused Furihata to become even more flustered.

"Oh, Furihata, after this trip is over, you'll discover quite a few things about the Akashi family, that are, indeed, ridiculous."

Furihata just stared at him as Akashi turned to the page he was reading earlier.

He…wasn't going to regret this, right?

The screech of the tires as the train stopped jolted Furihata out of his sleep. Sometime along the way, he'd fallen asleep, probably while reading the book he'd brought with him. He slowly blinked his eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden light.

"Are you awake?"

He heard Akashi's voice, which sounded, oddly, really close. He lifted his head in the direction of the voice and was staring directly into a pair of red eyes. He quickly raised himself, realizing he'd been using Akashi's lap as a makeshift pillow. He was sure they were seated opposite to each other, so how come he'd woken up in this arrangement?

His heart was racing.

"You were leaning on the window in your sleep. I hardly thought it was comfortable," Akashi said, sensing Furihata's inner turmoil.

"Y-you didn't have to lend me your lap!" He retaliated.

"But letting you borrow my shoulder would've equally been as uncomfortable,"

Sometimes, Furihata wondered if Akashi's cluelessness was only an act and that he was secretly messing with him on purpose. But, Furihata knew it was impossible since Akashi really was clueless about Furihata's growing feelings towards him. He'd only wished his heart would stop beating so fast.

"T-thank you," He said as a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. Akashi smiled at him.

"It was nothing,"

And the two grabbed their bags from the overhead compartments and got off the train.

"Akashi-kun, Furi-chan!"

They saw Momoi waving at them the minute they stepped on the platform. She ran in their direction and trapped the brunet in a bone-crushing hug. Furihata was expecting it this time, so it was easier to steady his footing.

"Hey, Momoi-san. It's been a while," He said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, all the while trying to ignore Aomine's glares.

"Oi, Satsuki! We're going to be late!" Aomine yelled, stomping his feet impatiently.

Momoi smiled inwardly to herself. She was the one to always remind him of his appointments and yet when it came to hers he'd be the one urging her to hurry. She detached herself from Furihata and ran back and walked beside Aomine, who began to walk in an unhurried pace to match her own.

Furihata smiled at the two. As different as they were from each other, the two did make a cute couple. He unconsciously turned to look at Akashi who, too, was staring at the duo with a fond look on his face. He and Akashi were different from one another, that was for sure…Furihata shook his head, not wanting to think about the many maybes and ifs. This was simply not the time.

The ride back to the Akashi manor was quite. Furihata watched the scenery change as the car left the busy city streets to much quieter neighborhoods and narrower streets. It wasn't long before his entire view was obstructed by tall pine trees. After twenty more minutes, the car stopped in front of a huge wooden gate, the name 'Akashi' carved in elegant writing into one of the wooden plates.

Akashi and Furihata exited the car, but Aomine and Momoi made no move to follow them. Momoi smiled as she informed them she was needed for an important meeting with a client along with Akashi's father and that they may be away on business for a few days. Akashi nodded in understanding, thanking her for her hard work with his father before he and Furihata were escorted by the waiting staff inside the house.

"Is this really ok?" Aomine asked, just as the two disappeared behind the closed gate.

Momoi's lips twitched into a sad smile as she looked down at her lap before nodding softly.

"It's not like we don't already know the story they're going to hear,"

It seemed Furihata had underestimated just how wealthy and powerful the Akashi family was.

The brunet stared in awe as he walked through the well maintained gardens and several traditional Japanese houses. Apparently, the Kyoto residence was a compound of many traditionally built homes, housing different members of the Akashi family. Not everyone chose to remain in Kyoto though, but being the reserved family it was, still a good number of Akashi's relatives lived in there.

Akashi's grandmother resided in the oldest and biggest house. It was the Akashi family's main house where family gatherings took place. And upon entering, Furihata felt he was suddenly in a different era; especially that the staff was also dressed in Kimonos.

The two were escorted down a long hallway, only to stop in front of one of the rooms. The young lady opened the door to the room, announcing it was 'Furihata-sama's'. The suffix felt foreign to Furihata as he wasn't used to being addressed with such formality.

"My room is a couple of doors away, if there's anything you require, let me know." Akashi said, and then left the room with the maid to allow Furihata to rest after the long journey.

Furihata entered the room and put his bags down on the floor. The room was spacious, but was relatively empty. The only furniture was the low table set in the middle of the room and the closet where the futons and pillows were stored.

But, it was the faint sound of water that caught Furihata's attention. He opened the paper doors and stepped on the outside patio and gasped at the scene before him. Behind the house was a traditional japanese garden. Unlike the other gardens he's seen which had a bit of a western influence, this one was purely japanese complimenting the traditional architecture of the main house.

The source of the sound Furihata heard, was a small waterfall streaming into a big pond.

The air was cleaner than Tokyo's, but was still equally cold, it was winter after all. Furihata hugged his arms in an attempt to warm up even if just a little as a chill ran through his body. The garden felt eerily familiar, not that he knew why. He's never been to this house before or to Kyoto for that matter, still a part of his mind nudged at him, convinced otherwise.

Furihata kept wandering further and further into the vast terrain, until his legs stopped at a well. It was clearly an old one, one they didn't use in years. The stones were covered in green mold, the wood was mostly rotten and there was no bucket attached at the end of the rope. Yet, Furihata found himself peering down the well's opening.

"Be careful!"

Startled, Furihata whipped his head in the direction of the faint voice he'd heard, but found nothing. He placed a hand over his heart, willing his fast-beating heart to calm down.

"Akashi, you shouldn't!"

At the mention of Akashi's name, he turned around once again, searching for the source of the voice. This time, his eyes caught a young boy with brown hair, underdressed for the weather in only his green yukata. The boy was running straight in Furihata's direction, but made no move to stop; instead he went right through Furihata's body as if he was thin air, leaving Furihata stoned in place, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Furihata slowly turned around. The boy stopped and bent down, placing his hands on his knees, panting. He drew in a deep breath before looking up at another boy struggling to climb the, now, clean and functioning well. The boy looked strangely like a smaller version of Akashi, only his eyes were of different colors, one red and one golden, just like those eyes Furihata has seen on Akashi a few times before.

"You worry too much, Kouki. I can handle this," The younger Akashi said, as he finally sat on the edge of the well.

"You're going to fall! Please come down!" Kouki said, frantically, trying to convince the young boy.

Furihata stared at the scene with wide eyes and a parted mouth. He was convinced his mind was playing tricks on him, or else how was he to explain what was unfolding before his eyes?
He silently continued to watch Akashi as he threw the bucket into the water, then started pulling on the rope, but with clear tussle. Everything was seemingly ok until his small hands let go of the rope, suddenly, losing his balance in the process.

Furihata found himself moving forward to try and grab the boy. But there was no real need to, as the boy was now floating.

He was floating above the opening of the well, surrounded by a white aura.

Furihata instantly paled.

Akashi frowned as he was placed down. Furihata looked in the direction of Kouki and saw his hands had the same white glow around them; it disappeared though the minute Akashi's feet hit the ground. Kouki breathed a sigh of relief and walked to Akashi and took his small hand in his own. The frown previously present on Akashi's face was replaced by a small smile as he gazed at Kouki, fondly.

"I told you this was going to happen! Let's go ask for help!" Kouki pouted as he dragged Akashi by his hand, the redhead only sighed but didn't protest and followed Kouki willingly.

Furihata stood, staring at the direction the two figures disappeared at, still puzzled and unsure of what exactly had happened. He'd just seen younger versions of him and Akashi trying to get water out of the well, which was now back to its previous state. And there was floating! He ruffled his hair, desperate in making sense of anything going through his head.

"Woof, woof,"

Furihata jolted out of his thoughts at the sound of barking. A small husky puppy looked up at him, happily wagging his tail. Furihata eyed the dog, unsure if it was another hallucination. But, when he bent down to bet the dog's head, he was glad his hands touched real fur and didn't just go through its body. His body relaxed as he continued to rub the dog's belly who kept barking enthusiastically at the attention he was getting.

"You're good with dogs,"

Furihata nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the small voice. His hand clutched to his shirt, right where his heart was. It seemed everything in this house wanted to give Furihata a heart attack! The small dog whined at the loss of the hand rubbing his belly, but quickly recovered upon noticing the guy standing before him. Furihata watched as the puppy jumped into the guy's hands and started licking his face.

So, at least the mystery man was no ghost since he could hold the dog, but Furihata had to admit that he looked like one. His skin was pale and he was dressed in a light blue Kimono, almost the same shade as his hair. His equally blue eyes were void of any emotion, or at least they seemed this way, as he stared at Furihata from head to toe.

"Nigou is not friendly to just anyone. You must be kind to animals," He said with a hint of a smile in his voice.

Furihata only laughed sheepishly, uncertain about how to respond to the normal conversation he was pulled into.

"Oi, Kuroko!" A gruff voice called. The guy in blue, apparently called Kuroko, turned to look in the direction of the running man who called his name. Furihata followed his movement.

"Warn people when you just vanish like this! Jeez," The man said between pants as he caught up to where they were standing.

"Nigou needed to go outside," Kuroko said. "Also, I'm not a kid, Kagami-kun, I can take care of myself," he added with a small pout.

The name sounded familiar to Furihata as did the dual red and black hair and well-built form hid behind the fabric of the gray striped Kimono. His eyes widened in recognition as he realized Kagami-kun was that Kagami he'd met at Akashi's party. Now that he thought about it, Kagami did mention he worked at the main house.

"It's been a while, Kagami-san!" Furihata said with a grin, drawing the attention to himself. Kagami stared at him for a while before he let out a small 'oh' upon remembering.

"You're Furihata right? How's everything been going?" Kagami asked, returning Furihata's grin with one of his own.

"Everything's fine! No more falling chandeliers!" Furihata said with a chuckle. Kagami laughed.

"So you're the guest coming in today, huh? I didn't expect seeing you again," Kagami asked and Furihata nodded.

"You two know each other?"

Both guys jumped at Kuroko's question. They were so into their conversation that Furihata forgot he was even there for a second, just how much of a low presence does this guy have?

"Don't go getting any ideas in your head!" Kagami suddenly shouted at the blue haired guy, whose facial expressions were as deadpanned as when Furihata first saw him.

"I didn't say anything, Kagami-kun,"

"You don't have to for me to understand what goes into that head of yours," Kagami said with a sigh, as he lightly hit Kuroko's head. "That's Furihata Kouki; he's the one accompanying Akashi. I met him at Akashi's birthday party last month,"

Kuroko's attention shifted from massaging his abused head to staring at Furihata, only now his eyes had a glint of curiosity in them. He lowered Nigou to the ground and looked at Furihata, his expression schooled once again to its usual composure.

"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya, Akashi-kun's cousin. It's a pleasure to meet you, Furihata-kun," Kuroko, formally, introduced himself with a bow.

Furihata returned the bow, fretfully, startled at Kuroko's formal introduction. "I'm Furihata Kouki, It's nice meeting you too,"

Kuroko didn't say anything further though and continued to stare at Furihata, who was growing more anxious under Kuroko's intense stare.

"Furihata-kun,"

"Yes!" He said louder than he'd intended.

"You need to change clothes,"

Furihata tugged at the hem of his green Kimono, uncomfortably, as he wasn't used to wearing such clothes. Kuroko had instructed one of the maids to bring him the piece of clothing and insisted Furihata change into it. It did feel a bit airy, especially bellow his waist, but the fabric felt nice on his skin.

The maid escorting him to the living room opened the door for him, before bowing and leaving. Inside, Akashi, alongside Kuroko and Kagami were sitting around the table in the middle. Furihata hurriedly made his way into the room and took his seat beside Akashi.

"It suits you," Akashi said with a smile when Furihata settled next to him.

Furihata tugged onto a strand of his hair, nervously, as his cheeks were painted in a light pink hue. "K-kuroko was the one insisting on it, y-you look nice as well," He said, stuttering through his statement. But who can blame him when he was looking at Akashi wearing his red robe, looking like he'd stepped outside of a history book. The color really fitted Akashi.

"It's actually my grandmother's dress code. Western styled clothes are forbidden in this house," Akashi explained with a chuckle.

Furihata nodded, understanding.

Kuroko poured him a glass of tea then pushed it gently in his direction. Furihata sipped on the tea Kuroko had served for him and relished in the taste of the green tea and felt his insides warming up a bit as he drank the hot beverage.

"Kagami-kun, please sit properly," Kuroko said, looking at Kagami with a slight pout.

"Huh? This isn't a tea ceremony, so why should I?" Kagami retaliated, still sitting down with his legs crossed.

"Even so, it wouldn't hurt to respect tradition," Kuroko said, now clearly pouting, while folding his arms in front of his chest.

Furihata couldn't help but stare at the duo. He knew it wasn't the deal with those two, but their interactions reminded him of those of his aunt when she used to nag at his uncle to do something right. The air around them reminded him of that of an old married couple.

Thankfully, their bickering is interrupted by the ringing of Kagami's phone. The redhead took his cell phone out of his Haori's hidden pocket, pressed a button and held the phone near his ear. The other three couldn't hear what the one on the other line was saying, but from the irritated expression on Kagami's face, they could tell it was serious.

"-I got it, I'll be right there," Kagami said and closed his phone, heaving a big sigh.

"What's the situation?" Akashi asked, placing his cup on tea on the table.

"There was a security breach in the main branch. Those incompetent idiots! I'll need to go clean up the mess," Kagami said, running his hand through his hair.

He then looked at Kuroko, his eyes softened as he stared into Kuroko's blue ones. Kagami's fingers unconsciously ran through Kuroko's hair, causing him to smile faintly at the redhead.

"I'll be fine. Kagami-kun worries too much,"

"I know I know. I just can't help it,"

The hand threading through Kuroko's tresses ruffled his hair instead, then slid lower alongside his face to cup his cheek. The two never broke eye contact with one another and they slowly, ever so naturally, started leaning in, their eyes closing halfway through.

"Ahem," Akashi cleared his throat.

Kagami and Kuroko quickly broke away and avoided each other's gazes. They had completely forgotten there were still people in the room, one who was a guest and was completely clueless to their relationship. One glance at Furihata and they could see him hiding his face behind his hands, but it was clear that the brunet was blushing. Kagami stood up and bid everyone goodbye before, hastily, leaving the room.

"I see the two of you haven't changed," At Akashi's remark, Kuroko coughed awkwardly, his cheeks tainted a little pink.

A rattling sound directs their attention to the door. An old woman wearing a dark blue Kimono entered the room, wearing a warm smile on her face. Akashi immediately stood up and walked up to her and bowed respectfully before taking her hand in his and planting a kiss on her wrinkled skin. She chuckled softly.

"My, Seijuurou-kun, I see living in Tokyo didn't lose you your manners," She said as she took her seat beside Kuroko.

"I apologize for not visiting sooner, I-" She cut him off.

"There's no need for you to apologize. My son is the one to blame after all. I'm glad to see you're well," She said, the smile never leaving her face. Akashi relaxed back into his seat.

Her soft blue eye then turned to look at the brunet sitting next to him. "I suppose you're Furihata-kun, correct?"

Furihata could only nod. She was oozing elegance and refinement, her aura was similar to that of Akashi's and even though her hair was white and her face was now full of wrinkles, Furihata could tell by the shape of her jaw and lean features that she must have been a beautiful lady in her early days, not that her obvious warm personality wasn't beautiful enough.

"I assume the two of you are here because of the curse?" She asked, her eyes darkening a bit. Akashi and Furihata nodded.

"I kinda understand the idea of it, but can't see why it is me and Akashi that are bound to it. Akashi did mention something about a binding contract, would you explain it further?" Furihata spoke.

"I told Tetsuya-kun the story many times before, but only wished to tell you when you have found each other as it's something that concerns you both," She said. The two before her stared at her intently, set on absorbing every word she says.

"The Furihata family comes from a long line of priests. They governed a Temple here in Kyoto for hundreds of years. Someone from each generation though, is chosen to be the guardian of fortune, one capable of bringing people good fortune. The last of the Furihata clan to possess such powers was one by the name of Furihata Kouki, that is your ancestor Furihata-kun," She paused and looked at Furihata.

Furihata's jaw hung open. He was still trying to process that his family were supposedly priests who governed a temple for years, but to be blessed by good fortune when he's clearly been haunted by nothing but bad luck since the past two months was just ridiculous!

He must have said that out loud, because Akashi's grandmother started chuckling.

"You'll understand after I'm done telling the story," She laughed some more before recomposing herself. "As I was saying, the young guardian is trained to use his powers since a young age. The noble families of Kyoto at the time often sent their heirs to the shrine to further their education and discipline. The Akashi family was one of those,"

"Even though they resided in the same place, the young priest wasn't allowed contact with any people of the outside world. And this is where our story begins…"

Kagakuro is in the house :3 (about time XD) lol And now the story of the past begins ~