Chapter 8: Attack
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The night was calm and quiet. Just as quiet as the group resting in a clearing. Seirin's light and shadow duo were huddled in one corner, Kuroko lightly snoring while Kagami had his arms crossed and was staring up at the sky. Aomine and Kise were a couple of feet beside them with the tanned male was resting on the blond's lap.
Kagami closed his eyes and breathed out heavily. The tension was dying down slowly, but that doesn't mean that he will let his guard down. The only problem was that his eyelids were getting heavier and heavier with each passing minute and only the adrenaline rush could keep him awake. Heck, he doesn't even know what time it is before dawn.
"Kagami-kun..." He heard Kuroko mutter. He didn't even bother looking down to his shadow's gaze or else he might see the light red tinge on his cheeks.
"Kagami-kun...!" Kuroko whispered louder, and if Kagami was hinting right, he could feel a bit of fear in the voice.
"What is i-" A hand clamped on his mouth followed by a long 'Shhh' from the teal-haired boy.
"H-he's watching..."
Kagami's eyes widened before he pulled the hand away from his mouth and gazed around in his surroundings. It was dark and the dim light from the very few stars in the sky was no help, but he swear he could make out a silhouette hiding behind a tree meters away from them. The white outline of the face made it clear that Slenderman was there.
And then just like how he appeared, the darkness consumed his figure and he wa nowhere in sight.
"Shit, Kuroko. I thought you were sleeping..." He hissed back, arm unconsciously tightening around the smaller male.
Kuroko didn't say anything, but looked over to Kise. His eyes widened when he saw that the blond was lighty trembling and beads of sweat were trickling from his forehead down to his chin. If the clenched fist and the shut eyes were any indications, then Kise was having it again.
Slender sickness.
"We have to leave..." Kuroko said.
Kagami gave a low grunt and stood up, pulling his shadow with him and earning the blond's attention.
"Wake that idiot up. We're going!" Kagami roared, much to Kuroko's dismay of having a quiet retreat. But ofcourse, Kagami was as loud as he could be.
"A-ah..." Kise nodded weakly, "Aominecchi... We have to go..." He shook the male lightly and it didn't even take him much to have Aomine standing up again.
"Kise, your hands are cold." Aomine remarked when he was pulling Kise up to stand, "And don't tell me it's just the weather."
Kise pouted. The more they spend their time together in this life and death situation, the more Aomine gets to see through his lies. It was a relief to finally be understood but the situation isn't what he was hoping for.
"I could feel it... He's watching us again..." Kise went straight to the point instead and clenched his fists.
Aomine rolled his eyes, "If he is watching us then we have to give him a show," Smirking, he removed his white jacket and tossed it over to the blond, "Now warm yourself up. We don't want you getting frostbite before we could even kick his faceless ass now, do we?"
Kise couldn't help but smile back at those words. He stared wordlessly at the jacket in his hands before putting it on. It was big but not too big, and the sleeves reached past his fingertips too, which were good since he could keep his hands in. Infact, it was comfortable and warm, and smells like dirt and the basketball that Aomine was always with.
"Kise-kun. Please don't start that as a hobby."
"Uwaaah! Kurokocchi! Don't scare me like that!"
Kagami shot them an annoyed glare, "Keep you voice down, Kise!"
"But it was Kurokocchi's fault!" He sighed dramatically and then flinched, "Wait- what do you mean hobby?!"
Kuroko shrugged, pulling the large jacket closer to his pale skin. Kise blinked and noticed that the jacket Kuroko was wearing was in fact Kagami's, and that he himself was wearing Aomine's.
"Right?" Kuroko asked, but demanded no answer. He turned and headed over to Kagami, who was surveying the area.
"You see that?" Aomine asked Kagami, shining his flashlight onto something in the distance, "There's different landmarks that has the notes. All we have to do is find these places to find the notes quickly."
"Oh yeah..." Kagami nodded in response before suddenly gasping at Aomine, "Wow, that was sensible coming from you!"
"What the hell does that mean, Bakagami?!"
Kuroko stepped in between them, "Exactly what Kagami-kun has said. You actually made sense for once, Aomine-kun."
"Tetsu...!" Aomine decided to chill and look back at the mess of trees before them, "We should get going. If we stay too long in one place, he'll definitely come."
Kagami and Kuroko stared at him again, "I see..."
Aomine snapped, "Gah! Stop making fun of me, you stupid couple!"
Kagami snorted, "That's rich, coming from the one who laid on Kise's lap for the past 15 minutes,"
"I heard my name-ssu!"
"Don't butt in!"
"Meanie!" Kise pouted as he jogged towards the group, "So... Uh, where to now?"
"Whatever that is," Aomine showed them the structure with his flashlight. It was white and tall, and it seemed eerie enough to contain one of the notes.
They started walking towards it and saw that the white mass was growing wider and wider with every step. The trees decreased as they approached it until they were in a spacious clearing and right before them was wide tunnel.
"This is stupid. Why the hell would something like this be here?" Kagami asked indecorously.
"I dunno. Why don't we ask it?" Aomine retorted sarcastically and started walking towards it.
"Be careful, Aominecchi!"
Aomine turned back, "What the hell?! I'm not going there alone!" He yelled in disbelief, seeing the other three just standing there, waving.
"You were already going there." Kuroko deadpanned before elbowing Kise, "Why did you have to stop him?"
"S-sorry...?"
"Well... In any case, if Slenderman attacks, it's best to be in a group to be able to fight back." Kagami said, smirking at the two and taking a step beside Aomine.
Aomine smirked at the redhead, "Yeah. Just in case Bakagami here gets captured, he'll be begging me to save him."
"Augh! Can't you stop contradicting me or ruining the moment? I'm trying to be nice here!"
"Kagami-kun is right. We should go together."
So in the end, the group entered the nearest opening of the tunnel. Aomine's flashlight didn't seem to shine till the opposite end, as if the tunnel was that wide, and the walls were plain and cemented. Their footsteps echoed, even when the ground beneath them was soil.
"It's here!" Kise shouted a little bit too loud and it echoed for a good ten seconds before dying down, "Uh.. Sorry,"
Kagami took the note and inspected it. It had a drawing of the being himself in the same crude style and the words 'Watches' were written beside it, "Stating the obvious, huh?"
"Okay. Let's go." And just as the redhead said that, Aomine's flashlight flickered and then blacked out.
"Just my luck. It's dead," Aomine grumbled and threw it over to the ground. He looked over to where he last saw Kuroko, "Oi, Tetsu, lend me yours,"
Kuroko shuffled inside his pocket and got out his flashlight. But before he could give it, a ringing sound filled his ears. The ringing grew louder and louder until he bit his lip and collapsed on his knees, clutching his ears.
"Kuroko!" He heard Kagami call.
He tried to look up despite his cloudy vision, "Kaga-" He was cut off by a large black tentacle covering his mouth and then tugging him backwards. His eyes widened when he felt more of those grip his neck and tighten.
"Kurokocchi!" Kise yelled, but before he could come over to help, a tentacle swiped across his torso, knocking the air out of him as he slammed onto the wall.
"Let the fuck go!" Kagami roared and charged towards Slenderman, fist ready to collide. Aomine was right behind him, eyes wide and focused on the silhouette of the being despite the total darkness.
The ringing continued, louder and louder, and it was as if his eardrums would break soon. Kuroko clenched his eyes close as he tried to pry away the tendrils around his neck. Risking the outcome, he bit onto the one covering his mouth, feeling liquid ooze out of it before snapping away from him.
Using this opportunity, Kagami gave a ferocious punch to Slenderman's chest, only to be met by thin air. He didn't have a time to think before he was roughly pulled backwards and he collided with Aomine, knocking them both to the wall.
"What the-?!" Aomine hissed, shoving Kagami off him, "You bastard!"
Kuroko gasped. The tendrils were already burrying into his skin and the burning sensation was telling him that he was infact bleeding because of this. He bit his lip to contain his scream and trashed around.
Slenderman tightened his grip around the teal haired boy's neck, not letting go despite the rash movements he was making.
Kise stood up shakily despite feeling lightheaded after the impact. He glared at the being before yelling, "Kurokocchi, catch!"
Kuroko's reflexes acted just in time to catch a flashlight. With one hand, he swung it back with enough force to hear a short 'thud' and the tentacles around him loosened.
Kagami and Aomine practically tackled the tentacles out of the way just before Slenderman teleported back to the entrance of the tunnel. Kuroko fell out of his grasp and luckily, Kagami caught him before he could hit the ground.
"Bastard!" Aomine sneered, about to charge again when Slenderman backed away, blending into the shadows. His frown deepened, "Damn coward...!"
"Kuroko... Hey, Kuroko," Kagami's worried voice snapped the tanned male out of his anger and made him freeze.
"Kagami-kun..." Kuroko croaked out, voice raspy and shaking. With his remaining strength, he moved closer to Kagami's chest, burrying his face on the soft fabric of his clothes, "..S-sorry..."
Kagami sighed in relief, and without thinking, he pulled the smaller teen's body closer to his and breathed the calm scent from his hair, "Thank goodness..."
Aomine smirked despite himself. Leave it to those two to be all fuzzy. He knew Tetsu was strong in the end, and it would take more than just that thing to break him.
His eyes flickered back to where Kise was huddled up against the wall, "Oh shit, Kise!" Rushing over, he could see that the blond's body was shaking, probably because he received twice as much impact as the others did. His hair was a mess, and Aomine's white jacket was already a dirtied enough.
"Kise, hey, c'mon." He didn't know what to say nor what to ask. And Kise didn't respond to his shaking. It frightened him, "Kise..!" He raised his voice only to be met by a hand grabbing his sleeve.
"Sorry Aominecchi... Could y-you..." Kise groaned, looking up to meet worried cobalt-blue eyes. It was reassuring once more, so he smiled weakly, "Let... Me rest..?"
Aomine looked over to Kagami and Kuroko, who were already steadying on their feet, "No can do, blondie." He hoisted an arm around the model's waist and pulled him up, "We need to get moving before he decides to check up on us again. You can rest on my back."
Crouching down, he casted a glance at Kise, motioning for him to get on. Kise was too pained to think and instead draped himself over Aomine's wide back, coiling his arm around the tanned man's neck and burrying his face on his shoulders.
"Thanks..."
"Yeah. We're even." Aomine replied while memories of the time when he laid on Kise's lap replayed in his mind. Heck, even the softness of Kise's voice was captured clearly. And yes, he was awake the whole time and it took a lot of willpower to not blush.
Aomine stood up, shifting the blond slightly until he was comfortable and then walked over to the light and shadow duo.
"Let's move."
No other words were exchanged and they moved on.
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TBC
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A/n:
Oookkay... So... ZE BLOOD!
The descriptions didn't match what was in my mind! Hahaha! Riiiight.
Sooo... I guess it was a try-hard KagaKuro scene but AoKise resurfaced more! Tehee~
And hints of AoKaga and KiKuro too...
I don't know if I have a solid pairing anymore... =w=""
Anyways! Thanks for reading! Like and comment!
Ciao~