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"Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last."

Chapter 7

The first time Furihata learned about the kids living in the temple, he couldn't help but be interested. He'd lived his ten years of age surrounded by adults, consisting of his parents and teachers, so the idea of having other people around his age fascinated him and sparked the curiosity within him.

His father, the current head priest, had warned him about leaving his personal quarters. Not that Furihata understood why, he always obeyed nonetheless. But, it couldn't possibly hurt to take a look from afar, could it? His father usually played shogi at this time of the day with the rest of staff, which would make sneaking out a lot easier. He should be safe if he's back within the hour.

Furihata carefully left his room and ran in the direction of the stairs, stealthily, still wary of any of the staff who might have skipped the shogi matches. He descended down the stairs and could only breathe a sigh of relief when he entered the forest separating the main dojo from his more secluded one.

He wandered through the routes of the dense forest he had memorized like the back of his hands. Nearing the end of the forest, the ringing sound of laughter reached his ears, a sound he was not quite used to hear. He leaned behind a tree trunk, clutching it with his small hands and took a peak at the garden behind the dojo. Around ten kids were running around, giggling as another tall kid tried to catch them. Their eyes were sparkling with pure joy.

It was the first time he'd heard so much laughing. The atmosphere around him always felt so serious, so suffocating as he was being taught about his duties day in and day out, not allowed any spare moments of leisure, not allowed to leave the confines of the smaller temple located on the top of the hill. He never felt he was part of a family; he was only there because he was born with the power of the guardian of fortune.

Those kids before him probably had loving, warm families. They could visit the town he'd heard his parents talk about once all the time. They weren't imprisoned in their own home.

They probably never knew what it meant to be alone...

They simply lived in a different world than his...

The more Furihata stared at them, the sadder he felt. He didn't know what he wanted to accomplish coming here; after all, he wasn't allowed to join them or even talk to them. Maybe the whole idea had been a mistake. He slowly backed away from the tree hiding his form and started retreating towards the forest. That is when his eyes caught sight of someone sitting inside the dojo near the open windows.

Unlike the others who were playing around, he sat silently in the classroom and practiced his calligraphy on a piece of parchment. Furihata found himself entranced by the neat strokes of his brush and wondered for a moment on how could a kid, same age as he was, be this...captivating, moving his brush so elegantly. Furihata stuck to his hiding spot for a little while longer, watching the redhead with sparked interest.

The boy though, abruptly, stopped writing and turned to look in the direction Furihata stood, as if sensing he was being watched. Furihata quickly ducked further behind the tree and stilled his breath, even though he knew he couldn't be heard from such a distance. Finally, the redhead resumed the task in his hands and Furihata took this chance to run back to the temple as to not get caught.

Last thing he saw, were the boy's mismatched eyes of red and yellow.

His name was Akashi Seijuurou.

Eldest son and heir of the Akashi family his parents always talked about.

After a few days of observation, Furihata came to know Akashi always seemed to be alone. Furihata usually snuck out during break time every day, yet Akashi would either be doing calligraphy or practicing tea ceremony. Other days, he would have a book with him and would read it for the reminder of the break.

Furihata just couldn't understand. When he was surrounded by so many other people he could play with, he didn't know why he chose to be alone. The other kids, too, seemed to avoid him and the teachers tried to ignore him as well. They almost seemed scared of him.

"He just looked at me again!" Furihata heard one of the teachers say.

"His eyes are so scary! Just like a demon's," The other one whispered into his ear.

Akashi, suddenly, stood up, taking them by surprise, and strolled in the direction of the woods. The two adults scrambled out of his way and Furihata hid himself further to not be discovered. Akashi looked upset as he passed him, his left eye gleaming with anger. Furihata shivered.

He'd expected the teachers to go after him, but they turned away and faced the other kids instructing them to return to the classroom. Furihata looked, worriedly, in the direction Akashi went. He couldn't deny Akashi did scare him a bit, but he just couldn't ignore him going off like this on his own. The forest was big and it was easy to get lost in, if you didn't know your way. His hand gripped on the hem of his yukata, and with new found determination, he followed Akashi into the forest.

Furihata tried to make as little noise as possible as he followed the redhead, keeping a reasonable distance between them. Akashi seemed to know where he was going, which was strange, given entering the forest was prohibited to anyone from outside his family. Now that he thought about it, it was weird the teachers even let Akashi into the woods in the first place. They'd be in for a scolding if his father was ever to find out.

Furihata had the forest memorized by heart. It was his only entertainment after all, walking through it at night and lying down on the grass to gaze up at the twinkling stars, so he knew Akashi was walking towards a clearing. His assumption was proven right, when the redhead stepped into it. It was a small area surrounded by tall pine trees and had a small waterfall pouring into a crystal-clear lake.

Any other day, Furihata would have admired the scenery, but right now he only hid himself behind the bushes and watched as the red head started throwing pebbles into the lake, frustratingly. He gave up after a while and just stood there staring in the horizon, the angry expression melting into a pained one, as he sat at the edge of the lake with a hump.

Furihata had heard the teachers call Akashi a demon child a couple of times before. Sometimes, they'd say it's his red hair, other times it was his dichromatic eyes, most of the times it's a combination of the two that lured them into the conclusion. They wondered if it was safe for Akashi to be even in the temple, to be near other people. It's their attitude towards him that probably drove the other kids away.

Akashi never seemed affected by their words. Before today, he'd always ignore their remarks and carry on with what he was doing.

But, of course Akashi was affected! Furihata thought as he took on Akashi's form. He was but a child after all. If Furihata was ever bullied and shunned away like this, he was sure he would cry. Akashi wasn't crying, he was only staring ahead, his hands clutching the fabric of his clothes.

He wasn't crying, but he certainly looked like he was about to.

Akashi started skipping his classes.

Whenever Furihata snuck out to the same place, he'd see all the other kids still playing around, all but one. Akashi would be missing from his usual spot by the windows and even long after the short break ended and everyone shuffled back inside, he wouldn't show up. Furihata couldn't help the worry rising in his chest.

His legs carried him down the familiar trail towards the clearing. His eyes scanned the area from his place behind the bushes and stopped when they spotted the redhead sitting on a tree branch, a book in his hands. He looked as calm and absorbed in his reading as the first time Furihata had seen him practicing his calligraphy.

And like that time, Akashi abruptly stopped his reading and turned his gaze in Furihata's direction. Furihata almost squeaked and ducked, trying to further conceal himself, but Akashi had already noticed him.

"Who's there?" Akashi said as his eyes glared at Furihata's hiding place. "Show yourself,"

Furihata glanced at Akashi through the gaps between branches. Convinced that if he waited in silence then Akashi would give up looking his way and return to his book. But luck wasn't on his side today for, instead, Akashi stood up, his hand leaning on the trunk for balance and his eyes never breaking contact from the few shrubs that separated them. Furihata broke in cold sweat.

But as Akashi was trying to climb his way down the tree, his foot slipped and his hands let go of the trunk he was once gripping.

"Akashi-kun!"

Furihata's body moved on his own and before he knew it, he was out from behind the bushes, his hand glowing white; the same color surrounding Akashi's floating form.

Akashi's eyes slowly opened as his feet touched the ground. He scanned the area briefly before coming across Furihata standing not too far away from where he stood. The two stared at each other in silence, until Furihata's mind caught up with the situation and he let out a squeak as he rushed to hide behind a close-by tree. But it was already too late, he had been seen.

"I can still see you, you know," Akashi stated.

Furihata tensed and peeked from behind the tree. He was shaking, mostly because he had never spoken to someone outside his family and teachers before, but now he stood before the boy he had been secretly watching for a little over a week now. It didn't help that Akashi was fixing him with a cold look too.

"You…you are the infamous guardian of fortune, aren't you?"

Furihata knew he wasn't asking, but looking to confirm what he already believed. Furihata nodded at him, hesitantly.

"You shouldn't be here. Go back," Akashi said and turned his back to Furihata and started walking back to the lake.

Furihata wanted to leave and hurry back to the temple before anyone found out he had snuck out, he really wanted to, but for some reason, he wasn't able to bring himself to leave while Akashi still stood there, alone. He took a deep breath and let go of the tree he was hugging so tightly and walked in Akashi's direction in small steps.

"A-Akashi-kun!" He called and hoped his voice was loud enough for the other to hear.

Akashi stopped in his track and turned to look at Furihata, expression momentarily surprised as he wasn't expecting the brunet to actually talk to him. It was forbidden to even meet him, let alone speak to him.

"Aren't you g-going back?" Furihata's hands were trembling as he spoke, but he looked at Akashi directly in the eyes. Those dichromatic eyes darkened for a moment, before Akashi averted them elsewhere, his long bangs preventing Furihata from knowing his exact expression.

"I won't go back there. I'm unwanted, anyway,"

Furihata's mouth parted, but no words left his mouth as he was unsure of what to say. Going back meant that Akashi had to deal with the awful treatment of the teachers; he would probably spend all his time by himself like he'd been doing before. Furihata didn't want him to go back to that kind of atmosphere, but he knew staying away in the forest alone wasn't a good idea either.

"You'll get in trouble if they find you here," Akashi's voice jolted him out of his inner thoughts. "Especially if they knew you've been with a demon such as myself," His voice was barely above a whisper by the end of the sentence.

This was wrong! Furihata's body was shaking again, this time with anger; anger at the teachers who were spewing nonsense, anger at the other kids who went along and ignored him. But most importantly, he was angry with his own hesitant, useless self who only kept watching from afar.

"You're wrong!" Furihata's voice was louder than anytime he'd heard himself speak. "Akashi-kun is not a demon!"

Akashi looked at him, utter astonishment clear on his face. He blinked at Furihata before regaining his usual composed expression.

"What makes you so sure? Everyone's been saying so,"

"Eh?" Furihata titles his head to the side as he looked at Akashi, confused. He was clearly not expecting to be asked to explain. "Demons won't be able to enter this forest, I place talisman on the trees every morning," Furihata said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I could be a special kind of demon that can bypass your charms," Akashi said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Why did it feel like Akashi was taking this as a challenge? Did he truly believe in the words of those stupid teachers?

Furihata stomped towards Akashi; his cheeks puffed in irritation and took Akashi's face between his palms. Akashi blinked at him, surprised by the sudden action.

"I've been watching Akashi-kun for a while now, so I know," He said, but before Akashi could say anything he added, "Besides, Akashi-kun is too b-beautiful to be a demon. It'll be such a waste," Furihata said with a grin, his cheeks a little rosy.

Akashi's shoulders started vibrating uncontrollably as he clutched to his sides while laughing. His giggles didn't sound like any others Furihata had heard, it was a melodic sound of sheer joy, but he probably felt this way because this was the first time he heard Akashi laugh.

"What kind of reason is this?" Akashi said between giggles.

"I-I was being honest! Stop laughing!" Furihata said, flailing his arms in front of Akashi.

But, in all truth, he wished Akashi would never stop.

"You know, Sei. You might actually make more friends if you smile more,"

Akashi lifted his head from his book to look at Furihata who was jumping on the rocks surrounding the lake. He heaved a sigh and resumed his reading.

"I don't need any more friends, Kouki," He simply said. Furihata shook his head disapprovingly.

The two meet up during break or after Akashi completed his classes for the day, now that the Akashi attended his regularly. After months in falling into this routine, they'd had become quite close and often spend their time reading or playing around, other times they'd be content just sitting near the lake, dipping their feet in the cold water and enjoying each other's company.

Furihata thought it was such a waste. Akashi had all those people around him, who now weren't avoiding him like they used to be. Akashi excelled in his studies and always performed his duties without complain, this earned him the respect and admiration of the others and the teachers stopped their unfound accusations and actually took notice of Akashi's hard work.

The fact that Akashi didn't glare all the time anymore could be one of the reasons too.

"But there are games you can't play unless there are many people," Furihata said with a sigh as he jumped on another rock.

"Kouki, get down, you might hurt yourself if you fall," Akashi said, worriedly, ignoring Furihata's statement.

"Don't worry, Sei! I got this!" He said as he happily jumped on another rock. But this time, his foot slipped and he fell into the water.

"Kouki!" Akashi quickly got up and rushed to the edge of the lake. "Kouki? Can you hear me?"

The sound of snickers made Akashi look up and he found Kouki floating near him, his clothes dripping wet. Akashi sighed, after momentarily glaring at Kouki, and sat back down, grabbing his book.

"You're really a handful,"

Furihata tucked at his haori as he further ran into the forest. It had snowed all day yesterday, and so he wasn't able to go to their regular meeting place. Akashi wasn't in the clearing when he checked it out earlier, so it must mean he's down in the main dojo.

The garden was empty of any soul, which Furihata had expected since the weather was cold. His eyes darted to the window Akashi used to sit near, but instead of finding him sitting alone as usual, he was with another boy with green hair. Both were focusing on the shogi board between them.

Furihata leaned against the tree, a weird foreign sensation making its way through his heart as he watched Akashi play with the new unknown kid.

As if possessing a sixth sense for when Furihata was near, Akashi looked his way and their eyes locked, a small smile played on Akashi's lips as he stood up, excused himself and made his way outside the door to where Furihata was standing.

"Kouki, you came," He said, the smile never leaving his face.

"You…you get along with them now?" Furihata breathed out in a sad tone.

Furihata clasped his hands over his mouth, regretting the question that left his mouth. He was the one who always urged Akashi to better get along with the other kids. But something about Akashi actually listening to his advice didn't settle well within him, even though he didn't know exactly why.

Akashi only raised a brow at Furihata's question. "…Yes, Shintarou is quite a challenge in shogi,"

"I-I see," Furihata stuttered and lowered his head down. He should be happy about this, he really should, and yet…

"Kouki…Are you perhaps jealous?" Akashi inquired with a smirk on his face. Furihata's face flushed instantly as the weird sensation he was feeling was finally identified.

"No! Y-you're wrong!" He said flailing his hands in front of Akashi. Akashi couldn't help but chuckle which made the redness of Furihata's cheeks only darken in color.

Akashi's giggles stopped and he stretched his hand to Furihata, a kind smile on his face. "Come, I'll introduce you to them,"

Furihata unconsciously took a step backwards as he stared at Akashi's hand. He and Akashi had been friends for almost a year now, but Furihata never ventured outside of the forest before. Akashi was the first friend he made, the first one he talked to and he was nervous about trying to talk to other people.

"I don't think it's a good idea, someone could find out," He said taking another step back. Akashi frowned.

"I won't let you get caught, don't you trust me Kouki?" Furihata stared at Akashi for a while before, hesitantly, taking his hand.

"I trust you,"

Akashi's frown subdued as he took in Furihata's warm smile and the two walked back to the dojo, holding hands.

"I give up! You're so good at this, Ryou-kun," Furihata said as he let out a defeated sigh.

"Furicchi is just bad at board games," Kise said and laughed.

"Ne, Furi-chin, don't be sad. You can have one of my rice cakes,"

Furihata beamed at the taller boy and accepted one of his treats.

Furihata had somehow managed to form a friendship with some of the kids studying with Akashi. During warm seasons, they'd sneak behind the teachers' backs into the clearing and play for the reminder of their break and on cold seasons such as this one, they'd sneak Furihata inside one of the many classrooms until it was time for him to leave.

They were all children from well known families which intimidated Furihata at first, but after getting to know them, he was glad he could be around all those people with different and fun personalities.

But, Furihata was genuinely surprised they never got caught all this time.

"What's with all this noise?!" They heard the sound of one of the teachers coming from outside the door. They barely had a minute before the door was opened.

The man looked at them suspiciously, as all the kids in the room were sitting straight with weird, uncomfortable smiles on their faces, especially Midorima who sat rigid in his place, looking like he just committed a crime. His eyes inspected the room but found nothing suspicious so he sighed.

"Oi! Aomine, Momoi, you're on cleaning duty today!" He barked at them and the two stood up in sync almost instantly.

"Yes sir!" They both said in unison.

The man raised his eyebrow once more as it was unusual for Aomine to be so obedient. Maybe Momoi was finally influencing him. He hummed in satisfaction and left the room, closing the door behind him. Identical sighs of relief left their mouths.

"T-that was close!" Furihata said as he lowered himself on the floor. "It's a good thing he didn't look upwards," He added with a grin.

The others chuckled.

"Kou-chan,"

Furihata froze in his place when he heard his mother's voice. He, hesitantly, turned around to look at her. She was fixing him with a stern look.

"I know you like visiting the forest, but try not to neglect your duties. You didn't check on the seal today,"

Furihata laughed nervously while scratching the back of his head. He was seriously worried his mother had found out he's been meeting up with the other kids.

"Kouki…" He heard her say in a worried, soft voice. "I'm sorry you had to live like this. One day, when you're a little older, I'll explain everything," She said with a sad smile while ruffling his hair.

Furihata faintly nodded, but avoided her gaze feeling a little guilty that he was already breaking the rules behind her back. He abandoned the idea of visiting the others for the sake on checking up on the big golden box, hidden within a small shrine.

It was the main duty of the future priest and guardian of fortune. The box hid the pieces of the god of disaster his ancestor had managed to defeat all these decades ago.

He walked in silence alongside his mother.

Furihata opened the door to the shrine, only to find the box glowing and rattling. Furihata's eyes widened in shock and he quickly touched the lid of the box and murmured the chants just like he'd do every time, but it wasn't working, the box continued to move.

Furihata tried to use his powers to strengthen the seal, but the moment his hands glowed white above the lid, the box shone brighter and Furihata was sent flying to the other side of the room, he groaned in pain as his body collided with the wall and fell limply on the floor.

That last thing he heard were his mother's screams.

Akashi's fingers lightly tapped in the table as he scribbled inside his book. He was hardly paying attention to what he was reading or writing as his mind was occupied with thoughts about a certain brunet. The others sat at a safe space from him, probably sensing his deteriorating mood.

Kouki hadn't come for the past week.

While this was nothing new as sometimes he had to attend to an extra training or some other duty as a guardian, something inside Akashi was nagging at him that his absence this time was abnormal, that Kouki wasn't okay.

"Ne, Akashicchi. Can't we just go check on Furicchi?" Kise said, hoping to ease the frown on Akashi's face.

"No," He firmly said as he closed his book. "If we get caught, we'll all get in trouble for breaking the rules," The blonde pouted and returned to staring blankly at his homework.

Akashi sighed and leaned further against the cold wall, Kise's suggestion still replaying in his head.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea, after all…

Later that night, Akashi managed to sneak out of his room while everyone was sleeping. All this time with Kouki had taught him a thing or two about breaking the rules with no remorse. A fond smile played on his lips at the thought of Kouki.

The trail up to the temple, where Kouki told Akashi he lived, was only lit by the full moon in the sky. He climbed the stairs slowly, making sure of the each placement of his foot on the old rocks.

When he reached the top of the stairs however, he stopped dead in his tracks, suddenly very aware that he didn't know where Kouki's room was or where to even begin searching.

"S-Sei?"

Furihata slowly blinked his eyes open. His vision was still a little hazy as he took in his empty room. He slowly sat up in his futon, the wet cold cloth placed on his forehead slid into his lap.

He didn't know how, but he could sense Akashi was near. He stood up, staggering a bit until he found his balance, and wrapped himself in a thin blanket and opened the paper door that lead him outside. He shivered the moment he felt cold air on his face.

His legs walked on their own, carrying him towards the stairs that lead into the forest where a figure was looking around, seemingly lost. When the figure noticed Furihata walking towards him, he momentarily panicked before his dichromatic eyes locked on Furihata's chocolate ones. Almost instantly, Akashi ran up to him and engulfed him in a tight hug.

"Sei! What are you doing here?!" Furihata asked, looking around them, making sure no one was there.

"You didn't show up. I came to check on you," Akashi simply answered. "Are you ok?" His words were laced with worry. Furihata couldn't help but smile as he nodded.

"Yes, don't worry. I caught a cold, but I'm already better now that you're here," He said as his grin grew wider as he noticed the pink dusting on Akashi's cheeks.

Akashi let out a sigh of relief as he pressed his forehead to Furihata's warm one.

"As much as I'm happy you came, but you'll get in trouble if someone sees you," Furihata said, breaking their contact to look at Akashi in the eyes. "Wait here, I'll put on proper clothes and show you back, ok?"

Before Akashi could even protest, Furihata had already left. Akashi sat on a nearby rock and rubbed at his arms in an attempt to gain a bit more warmth in this cold night.

"Come here,"

Akashi's head jerked up at the sudden sound reaching his ears. He looked around him, but no one was there, he was all alone.

"Come here,"

The sound repeated itself, but once again Akashi saw no one. He stood up and frowned at the dark empty space before him.

"Come here, boy,"

The third time he heard the voice though, his legs started walking on their own as if in a trance. He stopped before what looked like a small shrine. He opened the door to find a golden box in the middle, surrounded by written charms. His hands hovered over the lid, before they started slowly lifting it.

"NO! DON'T OPEN IT!" Akashi heard the familiar voice of Kouki shout at him. But it was already too late...

The big golden box which was laid in the middle of the room was now opened, the lid thrown somewhere on the floor as a bright light filled the place. Out of shock, Akashi fell to the ground, his hand were shaking and eyes widened. He did not mean to...This wasn't supposed to happen...

Twelve shadows flew outside the box, circling just above him. He could hear their sinister laughs as some of them flew too close to his body. Each time one of the shadows touched him, he would feel a painful burn jolting throughout his body.

"Stay away from him!"

He could hear Kouki's voice but couldn't quite locate him. His vision was blocked by the swirling shadows around his body. It was getting harder and harder to endure the pain as he hugged himself and tried to keep himself out of harm's way.

He felt scared...

But all of a sudden, the sinister laughs turned into wails of agony, and the darkness that once surrounded him began to clear. When he lift his head, he saw Kouki standing before him, the shadow's disappearing within him like his body was some sort of a black hole.

When all the shadows were gone, Kouki dropped to his knees. His breathing was labored and his arms were shaking under his weight.

"Kouki!" Akashi quickly stood up and ran to Kouki's side, placing both his hands on his shoulders, trying to balance him a little. "Are you okay?!" He asked, hurriedly, voice thick with worry. The boy in his arms nodded as he flashed him a tired smile.

"I'm sorry...I didn't-" He was stopped by a finger placed on his lips. Kouki shook his head and kept that smile on his face as he got up, he stumbled once but regained his balance and stood up firmly, as if assuring Akashi he was fine.

He extended his hand to Akashi, urging him to take it. And he did.

"Don't worry. I'll always protect you, Sei..." He said with a smile.

But… the minute Akashi stood steadily on his feet, Kouki's body collapsed in his arms.