It doesn't take Seijurou long to realize that he likes Kuroko. 'Likes' as in really, really likes. And that means a lot for Seijurou, who usually doesn't like anyone. Maybe it's because the kid is so damn straightforward. He doesn't treat Seijurou as the Akashi family heir, or even that he comes from a family of wealth. If he does something even slightly against Kuroko's liking, Kuroko is quick to reprimand him right there.
It's not just his personality either - Seijurou is also very fond of his physical features. His plump, pink lips, his cute nose, his soft, blue hair. He likes that Kuroko is shorter than him. Not by much, but there's still an obvious difference, especially at times like now, when they're standing side by side on a crowded train, on the way to the shorter boy's house.
"We always hang out at your place," he'd said. "I'd like my family to meet you. They should know who I''m spending all my time with."
Seijurou couldn't really argue with that, plus he is a bit curious about how his friend lives and what his family is like.
Kuroko's house isn't even a house - it's an apartment. They have to travel four floors up before even reaching the door. "I'm home," Kuroko calls, slipping his shoes off. Seijurou recognizes that the entrance is a genkan and follows suit.
Before his parents could even greet him, a small, black and white ball of fur darts forward and leaps into Kuroko's arms, yapping excitedly. Kuroko smiles at it and strokes its fur lovingly. "This is my best friend," he explains to Seijurou. "Tetsuya Nigou."
As much as Seijurou wants to complain about the fact that Kuroko's best friend is a bloody dog, he's more confused about the name. "Why would you name your pet that?"
"Everyone says that he looks like me." Kuroko holds the dog up so Seijurou can see its face. They do strongly resemble each other. Their eyes, they have the same shape and color. It's incredibly unnerving.
"I don't see it at all," Seijurou tells him.
"Ah, really?" Kuroko sets the little mutt on the floor and leads Seijurou into the house. It's about how he imagined an apartment to be, a large kitchen/sitting room area with a hall leading to what he assumes is the washroom and bedrooms.
In the kitchen stands a bright eyed woman chopping vegetables. "Welcome home, Tetsuya," she greets, halting the knife to grin at her son. "Oh, you have a guest!"
"Akashi Seijurou," Seijurou introduces himself, bowing. "Pardon the intrusion."
"Akashi? As in snotty, better than everyone, rich family Akashi?" she inquires playfully. Seijurou does not find it amusing.
After a few seconds of Seijurou staring holes into his mother, Kuroko replies for him. "Yes, he is from that family, actually."
A look of guilt crosses the woman's face. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She laughs nervously. "I didn't really expect it to be yes. You know, since you hang out with a kid like Tetsuya..."
What does that mean? Her son isn't good enough to hang out with him? Or he's to spoiled rotten to be around her son? Seijurou is about to voice exactly what he thinks of that when Kuroko gently pulls him away.
"Ah- Food will be done in about twenty minutes!" the woman calls after them.
"Please excuse her," Kuroko says as soon as they make it to his room. "She meant no harm. She's a good person." He leaves the door open and the black and white thing follows them in. How annoying.
Kuroko's room is a lot smaller than Seijurou's own, but there's also a lot more stuff in it. More books, posters, picture frames, some clothes on the floor. It looks a lot more lived in. Kuroko sprawls out on his bed with the dog and starts cuddling it. The way he snuggles his cute face into the stupid mutt's fur grinds at Seijurou's insides. "Come join us, Akashi-kun."
Tetsuya likes him better than us.
Seijurou ignores the voice and shakes his head at Kuroko's question.
"What's with that look? Is Akashi-kun jealous?" Kuroko asks playfully. "Want to hold Nigou?"
"I hate dogs," Seijurou spits out. His heart clenches as his friend's face falls in disappointment.
"Oh..." He sets the dog down on the floor where it sniffs around Seijurou's feet and trots out of the room.
If you ask me nicely, I'll get rid of that thing permanently for you, Sei-chan.
Feeling a bit sick, he gives in and sits next to his friend. Kuroko just looks at him with those big, blue orbs of his. So pretty. His gaze drops down a perfect cheek and to tasty-looking pink lips. Then further and to a slender neck. He thinks it's too pale. It needs some color. Seijurou can fix that, if he just presses his mouth to it and sucks, bringing blood to the white area. His eyes travel back up to meet Kuroko's. His friend is calmly blinking at him, seemingly not bothered by Seijurou's scrutinizing stare.
Seijurou brings his hands up to Kuroko's shoulders and behind his neck, in a way it almost seems like he's hugging him. He locks his gaze on those edible lips and leans in before Kuroko has a chance to figure out what's happening.
Kuroko freezes as Seijurou kisses him, but he doesn't push away. That's good, at least. He's not entirely disgusted. Seijurou adds a little more pressure and then pulls away to judge Kuroko's reaction more thoroughly.
"T-that was sudden," the blue-haired boy remarks weakly. There's a slight red blush on his cheeks. His eyes flick to the open door. "I'd better..." He trails off and goes to shut it before returning to Seijurou, sitting facing him, one leg up on the bed, the other on the floor. "What brought that on?"
"I really like you," Seijurou confesses. He places his hands on the other's waist as Kuroko wraps his arms around his neck. "Want to try again? Kuroko nods and Seijurou gently presses their lips together again. This time the other boy kisses him back. It's a bit awkward as neither of them have any experience, but it's nice all the same.
The kiss deepens and Seijurou eases Kuroko on his back, positioning himself above him. He vaguely wonders if Kuroko is feeling as hot as he is, if there's that ache of need present in the other boy's body. Seijurou's hand leaves Kuroko's waist, instead deciding to rest on his thigh. Figuring he may as well test the waters, he slowly runs his hand further up the inside of Kuroko's leg. After a couple inches he feels Kuroko's breath hitch and stop the kiss.
Seijurou withdraws his hand. "Sorry," he mutters.
Kuroko sits up, forcing Seijurou up with him. "Um, my mother might come in without knocking," he points out.
Seijurou feels a bit rejected, but he buries the emotion. "I understand."
The rest of the day passes uneventfully. Kuroko's mother tries to joke with him through their meal and Seijurou attempts to play along to please Kuroko. She invites him to stay for dinner, but Seijurou declines. He's not ready to meet Kuroko's father.
A few days later, the boys are in one of the entertainment rooms in Seijurou's house, watching a movie. They're cuddled up on one of the large cushions, Seijurou's arm around Kuroko's shoulders, Kuroko tucked into his side. Seijurou thinks the movie is boring. It's a western movie about a dog that is obviously going to die. Who cares?
Seijurou has taken to watching Kuroko. The boy doesn't make many facial expressions, not ones that are noticeable anyway, but Seijurou has be studying all the little motions he does with his face. The way his eyebrow twitches a tiny bit when he's angry, how he chews on the bottom of his lip when he's upset, the almost imperceptible way he bites the inside of his cheeks when he's annoyed and wants to say something.
At the moment, Kuroko's lip is between his teeth, Seijurou notices. Why? The dog hasn't even died yet. He leans in and plants a soft kiss to Kuroko's temple. The boy's shiny eyes stay locked on the television screen. As if he didn't even notice the kiss. This irks Seijurou. Why isn't he paying attention to him? He kisses him again, his cheek this time, and then his jaw. No response. He sticks his tongue out and licks a line up Kuroko's neck.
"That tickles," Kuroko giggles, pushing Seijurou away gently.
"Hey," Seijurou starts. "If me and Nigou were both falling to our deaths and you could only save one of us, who would you save?"
That gets his attention. He turns to Seijurou with wide eyes. "Why would you ask something like that?"
"Just answer it," Seijurou grunts, avoiding his friend's eyes. "Me or Nigou?"
Kuroko shuffles out of his arms, obviously bothered. "Don't ask me stuff like that," he demands.
Seijurou is upset at the lack of assurance. How can he not immediately answer? It's clear that he should save Seijurou. "You like me better than that dog though, right?" he asks, tugging at Kuroko's shirt.
Kuroko lets himself be pulled toward Seijurou and falls into his side. "Well, you won't find me ever making out with Nigou. That's for sure."
It's not an answer.
He's in pain. Excruciating pain. His head, there's something wrong with it. He opens his eyes only to be blinded by the bright sun. Clamping them shut again, he slowly tries to sit up. He succeeds and rests his aching head in his hands before attempting to open his eyes again.
He's outside, surrounded by trees. He recognizes this place. It's the woods behind his house. Why is he out here on the ground? Why does his head hurt so bad? He lifts a hand to where the most painful spot is, tears of pain trickling from his eyes. It comes away bloody.
He studies his surroundings more carefully, trying to piece together what happened. There's slightly elevated ground to his left and a rock with a bit of red wetness on it behind him. Okay, so he can assume he somehow tripped down the hill and hit his head. Just what he needs, brain damage on top of everything else.
He stands sluggishly. His body hurts too, but not nearly as bad as his head. Why is he out here in the first place? He racks his brain, but he honestly can't remember. Maybe he had another black out? Or did the damage from the fall give him amnesia? There's quite a lot of blood. It's leaked down his neck and soaked his shirt, and it's all over his - with a start he realizes something terrifying.
These aren't his hands.
He can't breathe. What the hell, he thinks. What the hell, what the hell, what the hell. Quickly, he checks the rest of his body. It's hard, he doesn't remember what clothes he was wearing before he blacked out so he can't tell from that. He has no mirror or cell phone on him to see his reflection. He plucks a few hairs out of his head and looks at the colour. Bright red, like his own, but that could just be from the blood.
Forgetting the pain in his head, he sprints up the small hill. He has to get home and figure out what the hell is happening, but the sight at the top of the hill makes him freeze. "Oh my God..." he mumbles out loud.
There's more blood, but not from him, and now he's sure all the blood on the hands in front of him isn't his either. In the center of the crimson pool is a small corpse, a screwdriver stabbed through its skull. There's no doubt in his mind that this body he's currently in control of did this. How fucked up, he thinks to himself. Tears find their way back into his eyes and down his face. The pain in his head sparks back up at that and he wants to openly weep, but that would make it worse. Sniffing miserably, he hides the body under a nearby bush to deal properly with later.
He forces the body he's in to make the short walk back to his house, deciding to go right in through the front door instead of sneaking. He vaguely wonders if his maids will recognize him. It seems like they do though, because as soon as he opens the door there's a loud cry of, "Seijurou-sama?!" So this must be Akashi Seijurou's body, though it doesn't belong to him.
"I don't feel well," he tells one of the women. He's sure he's quite a scary sight, covered in blood and dirt and tears that he hasn't bothered to wipe away.
The maid quickly helps Seijurou into one of the washrooms nearby. "What happened?" she asks, worried, sitting him down near the sink.
"I fell," he explains. His cranium is worse than ever, now blinding him with white hot pain. He clutches his head, not directly touching the wound, and buries his face in his knees. "I want to sleep."
"Don't sleep," she warns. Seijurou feels a cool, wet cloth on his neck. She's cleaning him up, he guesses. "You're going to the hospital."
He opens his mouth to argue against that, but he passes out before he can.
Seijurou's in a hospital room with his mother. He woke about an hour ago, feeling a lot better. His mother is sitting next to his bed, clutching his hand tightly, teary and worried. Seijurou himself isn't very worried and neither is the doctor.
"So what do you remember, Seijurou-kun?" the doctor asks politely.
"Taking a shower Friday night," he replies. "Then I woke up outside. I believe I tripped and hit my head."
The doctor looks at some papers. "And you woke today? So a few days are lost. That's usual," he reassures both Akashis. "You're memories will probably come back within a week." Yeah right, Seijurou thinks. They never do.
A nurse comes in holding a few sheets of paper and hands them to the doctor. He looks at them a few moments. "You're CT scans look fine. There's a bit of bleeding, but that seems to be clearing up. So, no permanent damage."
Seijurou's mother sighs loudly in relief. "So when can we take him home?"
The doctor doesn't answer. He's still looking at the sheets, appearing to be troubled about something. He motions the nurse over and points something out to her. She nods and leaves the room.
"W-what is it?" Seijurou's mother asks, worried by the exchange between the two. She lets go of her son and and hurries over to where the doctor is standing, wanting to know what's on the page.
"Ah..." He lowers his voice as if trying to hide what he's saying from Seijurou, though doing a poor job of it. "Are you aware of your son's mental condition? You didn't say anything about it in the papers you filled out."
"Eh?" she asks, confused. "Sei-chan doesn't have any mental conditions."
"You see this here?" The doctor shows her the scans, pointing to something. "His ventricles are larger than usual and there's less brain tissue in the hippocampal area." Seijurou makes a note to research that later. "Also the nurse that interviewed him earlier made some notes here."
Seijurou's mother's expression turns sour. "Sei-chan is perfectly normal, thank you very much."
"Ah, I'm not saying he isn't," the doctor defends. "It's just something you might want to look into."
"He's fine," she insists. "When can we leave?"
Seijurou doesn't agree. He's not fine, but it's not because of any damn mental disorders.
He ends up going to school Tuesday, the day after his trip to the hospital. His mother insisted that he stay home and rest, but he feels too restless to stay there. Plus, he wants to see Kuroko, even if the bandage on his head gets attention. He hasn't been able to tell the boy what happened due to not having his phone. He figures it's probably still in the woods behind his house, but he hasn't been up to going out there again.
He heads into the classroom. At first he doesn't spot Kuroko, and thinks that maybe he's stayed home, but then the blue-haired boy materializes in front of him. "Hello, Kuroko," he greets.
"Akashi-kun." Kuroko's eyes find the white bandage. "What happened?" he asks, eyes wide. His eyes are a bit swollen and the rim is red.
"Just an accident. I'm fine," Seijurou promises him, leading him to their seats. "Is something wrong? You're eyes are red. Have you been crying?"
Kuroko turns his gaze away. "I called you yesterday. A few times."
"Ah, sorry, my phone is currently lost," he explains.
"It's fine," Kuroko immediately replies. "You're hurt. I understand."
"I hope you're not upset because of me." Deep down, Seijurou knows the reason for Kuroko's despair, but he doesn't want to bring suspicion onto himself. "I wouldn't be able to stand it if you're sad because I didn't answer your calls."
The shorter boy huffs. "So conceited," he complains good-naturedly. "That's not it. Nigou's missing."
"Missing?"
He nods somberly. "Yesterday morning he was just gone." Tears gather in his blue eyes, but he blinks them back. "It makes no sense. How did he get out? Plus, he's a good dog. He wouldn't leave. He'd come back."
The tears tug at Seijurou's heart. He reaches a hand out and gently grasps Kuroko's. "I'll help you look for him," he offers. "We can make posters and everything."
Kuroko smiles a beautiful smile at him. "Thank you, Akashi-kun." He squeezes Seijurou's hand. "Class is about to start," he point's out. They let go of each other and Seijurou faces front, though his mind isn't on the lesson.
They end up making a couple hundred posters and hang them up all over town. The posters have a few pictures of the mutt on it, his name, and Kuroko's information in case someone finds him. Seijurou thinks that it's a bit extreme, but he doesn't say anything. Whatever makes Kuroko happy. Though Seijurou knows that it's a wasted effort.
After him and his friend part late in the afternoon, Seijurou decides it's time to take care of the mess he left under the bush in the woods. He gathers rubber gloves, a mask for his mouth and nose, and a small shovel. He sneaks out of the house with the items, sure he'd draw suspicion if anyone saw him leave with them.
It's takes about five minutes to reach the spot. His head throbs a bit, as if it's remembering that he banged it here. He takes a few deep breaths to steady himself before putting the gloves and the mask on reluctantly. He starts by shoveling the dried blood and mixing it with the dirt it's on, making it unnoticeable. After that, he digs a small hole. Then the part that he's dreading the most.
Thankfully the corpse is still intact and scavengers haven't gotten to it yet. Good, that makes it easier, though just slightly. He takes the small ball of black and white fur in his gloved hands and holds it as far away from him as he can. Seijurou can't smell because of the mask, but he doesn't want it too close to him anyway. He briefly debates pulling the screwdriver out of the poor creature, but decides against it. That would definitely make him ill.
He feels tears prick his eyes as he sets the body in the hole. He hates this stupid dog, but it certainly didn't deserve this. It didn't even do anything wrong. Just got the affection of a boy who is loved by someone else. That isn't fair. It wasn't even Nigou's fault.
"All you did was make Kuroko sad," Seijurou says in his head. "Now he's just going to be depressed for a long time because he's never going to know what happened to his dog."
Ha, I like how you say that as if I did it by my own free will, came the reply. I did it for you, Sei-chan.
Seijurou spits back, "Don't lie to me."
Why would I lie? You wanted cute Tetsuya to like you best. I understand.
"Don't call him that like you're his friend, you monster," Seijurou demands.
Monster? That's a bit harsh. I was just trying to make you happy like a good friend. I guess that makes you the real monster, Sei-chan.
I'd like to thank all the wonderful people who've left me nice replies. You guys are great and I'm very thankful! Please keep supporting me!
Thank you for reading and have a good day!