A/N: HOLY SHEET finally an update?!
Ack, I'm so sorry for not updating! ;_; Studies have been a huge pain in the neck and I haven't been able to keep up with expected grades so I've been forced to work my butt off all this while orz
Also I got involved in other fandoms, mainly Devil Maker: Tokyo so I ended up doing fanfics for that section instead ASDFGHJKL I'M SO SORRYYY QWQ
Anyway, konnichiwa! It's been at least a whole year since I actually updated orz RL + other fandoms have made me deviate from KnB ;u;
Also, after looking through the reviews, I had to do a serious plot revision to make sure I wasn't screwing up anything because 99% of the time I'm actually writing all my stories based from impulse and random inspiration so what I had originally may not coincide with the ending this story will have ;;;w;;; so just keep posting reviews if you want the story to lean towards your desired direction and I'll try my best to adapt TwT
Anyway, Chapter 12! I hope this satisfies all you readers out there ;;w;;
This fanfiction is dedicated to Shiwafuri Ai ^o^
Golden Flower
(c) Kimura Yumi
Summary:
Kise, having been sold as a prostitute a few years ago, is now practically living like an alive corpse, and always gets "abused" by his boss. Will his life ever change when his childhood friend steps into his thin thread of his entire life? Or would his flame flicker out? Slight AU, contains yaoi, and prostitution.
WARNING: Yaoi (BL), and prostitution
DISCLAIMER: The usual .w.
Chapter 12 : Memories
Before they knew it, night had fallen. The wan moon hung up high in the sky, shrouded by dark cloud of the night. The air was still and silent, with not a single movement present. The skinny twigs and branches that hung from the tree trunks swung back and forth, creating the rustle that everyone always hears every day and night.
Kise lay awake in bed, his eyes wide open, his worries clouding his mind and forcing him to stay away. Beside him, Aomine was in a deep sleep, his soft snores puncturing the silence in the air apart from their quiet breathing. The air was still, unmoving, yet it was able to stir uneasiness within him.
He sat up, pressing a hand to his forehead. That letter he received earlier on that day... it definitely spelt trouble right in his face.
That handwriting belongs to none other than...
...
He sighed as he lowered his head. Pain raged about inside of him, making his feelings conflicted. He did not want this...
"If you don't make the correct decision, I'm afraid I'll have to resort to using force to get you back. You do know what I mean, correct?"
I... I'll be a danger to Aominecchi if I stay here...
That was the only thought that ran through his head. Blinded and conflicted by pain and confusion, he bent down, silent tears furiously running down his ashen cheeks. The blonde locks that usually hung neatly over his eyes was now ruffled and disheveled.
"I believe you can make the correct decision on your own."
Kise looked at Aomine, who was fast asleep. His fingers played with the short blue tufts of the sleeping male's hair, a sigh weakly escaping his lips. He hated to leave Aomine, the love of his life, his saviour, and his brother.
"Forgive me... Aominecchi."
If he stayed here any longer, there was no telling what would happen to Aomine. All Kise knew was that he would definitely be in danger if he continued living in fear, hiding away from where he was supposed to belong.
"I can't put you in any more danger."
Kise fumbled about under the bed, desperately searching for something...
"You mean the world to me."
Swiftly, yet silently, the blonde undressed himself, and pulled on his golden yukata. The one he had always wore when he was serving his time at the brothel.
Haizaki's brothel.
The silver moonlight peeked in through the small gap between the curtains, and was just enough to illuminate a faded outline of Kise's figure. His golden eyes sparkled a small hint of sadness and reluctance as he carefully stood up from the bed, all thoughts of a happy future and a brilliant life with Aomine brutally shattered into nothingness in just a matter of seconds.
The tears spilled out of his eyes. Surely, there could be another way out from this mess? But he couldn't risk putting his one and only in danger, even if the chances are slim...
Bending down, Kise brushed the tufts of hair out of Aomine's eyes and kissed his closed eyelid, albeit sadly. Pulling himself back just a little, the blonde could see the tanned male's features up close. It was just as he had remembered, but only matured.
"How long has it been since I've seen you, Aominecchi?"
Something seemed missing...
I'm pretty sure I only knew Aominecchi when we were still in America, so... why?
"... Winter Cup six years ago..."
Surely, I'm forgetting something...?
Aominecchi... and basketball...
Basketball...
...
...
...
There was a hint of sadness when he finally tore himself away from the sleeping male and croaked out a farewell. Something in him had begun to take flight, and he had to put his mind into remembering it, and executing it.
"... Goodbye, Aominecchi."
Aomine silently watched as Kise slunk out of the room, quietly yet reluctantly. When the door finally closed with a soft 'click', he sat up and stared long and hard at the door, as if something was there and would not go away...
"... Kise."
He looked down at the floor and saw a piece of crumpled paper. Slowly bending down and picking it up with trembling hands, Aomine began to read the scrawled handwriting that had permanently scarred the paper, eyes widening and lips quivering...
Ryouta,
So you're alive, eh? I'm very impressed by your audacity for going against me when I aimed the gun at Daiki. I see that you're still alive and well.
Now, I give you two choices; come back to me, or stay with Daiki. If you don't make the correct decision, I'm afraid I'll have to resort to using force to get you back. You do know what I mean, correct? I believe you can make the correct decision on your own.
You are my property, and only mine. Remember that I'm always superior against you. Just because you scored a victory against me during Winter Cup six years ago does not mean that you have overtaken me. I have dethroned Akashi from his high horse. Now is the time for me to become king and rule over this accursed world.
Times have changed. The Perfect Copy you proudly speak of is no longer in existence. For the past year I have been showing you who's more superior and who's not. Learn your place, Ryouta.
"..."
Filled with an indescribable fury, the ace crumpled up the letter and vigorously flung it into the dustbin with a perfect score.
"Haizaki, you asshole!" he roared. His voice bounced off the four walls of the room and returned to him with equal strength. "How dare you! How could you..."
His voice trailed off as he watched his hands fall onto the soft sheets of the bed, before his entire body was enveloped with warmth. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he could feel the anger, the hate, the sadness, the hopelessness...
"I would have protected you, Kise...!"
The boiling tears ran down his face and soaked the sheets that blinded his vision.
"You could have trusted me, I would have kept you safe, away from him!"
His fingers shook. Then, pushing himself up from the bed, he stared at the desaturated blue colour that lay before his eyes, crumpled and ruined with the stain of his tears.
"Just because you scored a victory against me during Winter Cup six years ago does not mean that you have overtaken me."
"That punch back then... It wasn't enough?"
"I have dethroned Akashi from his high horse. Now is the time for me to become king and rule over this accursed world."
"What on earth... happened to Akashi after that?"
Aomine shuddered merely at the thought. The last time he had saw the red-haired captain, he had protected them from a bullet shot and sacrificed his left eye in exchange for their guaranteed safety.
"So many things have happened over these years..."
Ten years ago, at the age of twelve, he had blamed Kise for his mother's poisoning, and had even injured him to the extent of drawing blood and causing mental trauma, before heartlessly hopping on a plane with his uncle and going all the way to Japan, and entering Teikou Junior High to continue his education there. He remembered that he had wanted to forget everything, wipe away the memory of the America incident, forget that it ever happened.
But a year later, fate had brought them back together, forcefully, and painfully. He had accidentally thrown the ball on someone's head, and it had actually turned out to be the same Kise Ryouta whom he had tried so hard to forget.
But Kise did not seem to remember what happened at that time. Despite the amount of pain he had inflicted on him, the latter did not seem to even recognise him at all, so...
Did the trauma made him forget?
But ten years later, it seemed that Kise remembered the opposite instead. He never mentioned a single thing about basketball, but only remembered that the only thing that linked the both of them together was the brutal incident ten years ago.
"... What on earth happened to you, Kise?"
"You actually came. I must say, I'm not surprised."
Haizaki smirked as he watched Kise walk slowly towards him, clad in his silk yukata. They were in the middle of a deserted road, where the boss's car was park just by the side, awaiting its driver. He reached out and pulled the blonde into his arms, and while cupping his face, he licked his lips hungrily.
"I missed you... kitten."
Kise stared at him, emotionlessly. There seemed to be a mysterious glimmer in his eyes. Haizaki raised an eyebrow questioningly, but only smirked later on.
"Why, you're not going to resist? How rare." He took the blonde's hand and led him to the car, gently, as if he was a priceless treasure. "I'll be sure to have my fill when we get back there - "
Kise then forcefully pulled his hand away and took a step back, looking at Haizaki in the eye.
"...?!"
The gusts of wind rushed past them, anxious to pass the night. The air was chilly, and a thin layer of cold air clung to the prostitute's exposed skin. His hair flew into his face as his golden eyes remained fierce, vicious. Swiftly, he raised a finger and pointed it at the man clad in black.
"Haizaki Shougo," Kise spat, somewhat venomously. "How dare you take all of us captive, and treat us like your sex slaves? Winter Cup may be over, but that does not mean it's the time for you to assert authority over us. Moreover, in such a repulsive way."
Stunned, Haizaki looked at the blonde, before bursting in hysterical laughter.
"... So you remember, Ryouta! But you were a little too late, I must say! I have the place under my very little finger! Try to stop me, head of the Shougo mafia clan, if you can!"
"I don't care about your bloody status! What on earth did you do to me a year ago?!" the blonde yelled out, his voice echoing into the distance for the silent sirens of the sea to hear. He could feel himself boiling and seething with rage. "Now, I remember my time at Teikou and Kaijou as clear as day, but when Aominecchi came into the picture at that time, all I could remember was that I came from America!"
"Silence!" Haizaki boomed, a hysteric smile that was capable of instilling terror plastered on his face. "You do not deserve to know!"
"TELL ME!" Kise screamed.
But within moments, Haizaki had rushed up to the blonde, and had rapidly raised his leg to successfully deliver a sharp blow to the latter's abdomen. He choked, and coughed violently, before collapsing onto the ground, the knocking out of air from him and the sudden pain rendering him completely unconscious. The mafia boss cracked his knuckles, staring at the fine piece of work he had created in just a matter of moments, and smiled maniacally.
"AHAHA!" he shrieked hysterically, as he picked the unconscious Kise up and flung him over his shoulder, while sauntering his way to his own sleek black car.
"Even as you're unconscious and sprawled on the floor, loosely dressed in your yukata, I must say, you strangely look as beautiful as ever..." he breathed with excitement. "It seems that my kitten has now grown up... to become even more stunning and enticing." He shivered. "I'm looking forward to the new pleasures you can give me..."
"AHAHAHAHAHA!"
The wind blew past the curtains, and the sky let loose the cry of a lonesome banshee, while the treetops swung about dangerously, making rustles that were too loud for comfort.
Kuroko stared up at the bleak ceiling, his sky blue eyes now devoid of emotion. His fingers were briefly coated with blood, and the pain within him surged forth, and back, and again and again.
Losing someone had never felt this painful.
In his right hand was a small dagger, just sharp enough to pierce skin, and in his left hand was nothingness but a small slit on his wrist. The blood flowed down his skin profusely, like an endless river of the dead.
What has he been doing all this while?
He only remembered one year ago, when he was going back home to visit his grandmother, he passed by the Seijuuro residence and briefly saw a bloodbath before he was knocked out and brought to this hellish place.
Trapped with Akashi, both of them had no one else but each other to rely on, and it was only with each other's support did they manage to survive and brave through the horrifying difficulties. They had no one else but themselves.
And eventually, they began to develop feelings for each other. Not in the friendship way, but something more.
That's why...
"Akashi-kun..."
Where was the motivation to live, if everything had been taken away from him? His family, his freedom, and now the person that he had grown so close to, and learned to love. The devastation that had broken him to the very core had rendered him beyond repair...
"You told me to escape from this place, but I can't even bring myself to lift myself up..." He breathed a long sigh of resignation. "Without you... my life would have no more meaning..."
He let himself fall, deep down into the abyssal darkness as his vision began to fade and his hearing null. Falling... and falling...
"I'll see you soon."
When he finally hit rock bottom, all he felt was a dull thud, and the brief sound of his heartbeat going slow. Closer and closer to eternal freedom he was...
"... ko?"
Just a little more and he would have been free.
"... roko!"
Someone seemed to be calling out to him. He wanted to lift his head and respond; see who was calling. But, he was too tired, too sick of all of what was happening, too exhausted after keeping up at the front lines of this meaningless battle for so long.
And, as he faded away to darkness, he heard the last call of his name, loud and clear.
"Kuroko!"
hail the lord of cliffys /slapped
still trying to write longer but as usual, 2k updates T_T
also, sorry for making haizaki so psychotic :'D personal feud HAHA
It was VERY hard to think of the actual structure that would suit this chapter tbvh orz so I hope this is still alright!
Reviews are very much appreciated! *hearts*
Thank you for all the reads and the follows and the faves and all the reviews so far! I wouldn't have been able to get this far without you readers' support! Dx I'm so glad you guys like this story as much as I do so I'll do my best to finish this! (I started it anyway, so I'll see through this till the end! ;;w;; )
See you in the next chapter!