Chapter Text
The wind blew harshly, Kise tightened his grip on his sword. Finally they were here, in the back of the Fell Dragon, trying to seal the blasted dragon who crossed the time to destroy the world.
Their world.
Kise's gaze never left the Blue-haired figure in front of him, a person whom he was supposed to knew so well. But Kise knew that he was not the same person as the male who was now fighting on his side. Never was.
“Ah, my dear prince. Care to join me in a brand new world?”
The man, no, the creature in front of him right now was just a duplicate of his beloved tactician. A shadow that controls the destructive dragon who was now flying towards his halidom.
“Why the silence? I promise I’ll give you anything you asked, Kise-kun. The world, the throne… or even... myself.” It smirked.
Kise swallowed. Their voice sounded the same. He let out a breath that he unconsciously held. Even if his heart would tug painfully when he attacked that familiar face, he must put an end to it.
Kise could hear the sound of metals clashing behind him, swords and axes. The sound of hooves from the cavalry, the swishing of their lances and screams of pain. Loud chanting of magic spells that were thrown between his allies and their enemies. His allies were making sure that nothing should pass through them and disturbing Kise in landing the final blow.
It was only him and this doppelganger now. Kise must succeed, or this world would perish.
"I come to end you, Fell Dragon!"
"Ahahaha…! Such an arrogant mortal... You want to end me? I am THE END!" The doppelganger cackled, opening its magic tome in a quick flip. Kise dashed forward to attack before it finished chanting.
Suddenly, thunder boomed in front of them, making the dragon shift sharply from his flying path. Kise grunted in surprise, plugging his sword toward the dragon's thick skin, trying not to fall down. A magic spell flew towards him. He jumped, trying his best to avoid lethal damage. The magic energy hit his sword, knocking it back a few meters.
"Damn!" He cussed. He needed his sword to finish his duty.
"Kise-kun, watch out!"
Kise’s sighed in relief when Kuroko appeared beside him. Kuroko raised his hand. “Thoron!” A thunder spell was casted, and in a blink of an eye, Kuroko unleashed it towards his doppelganger. He aimed it straight to the stomach, and it hit the target perfectly.
Kuroko’s doppelganger screamed, causing Kise’s foot rooted to the spot. Kise’s blood seemed to have frozen, hearing Kuroko’s usually soft voice now screaming and spewing profanities.
“Kise-kun!” the real Kuroko shouted. Kise blinked, snapped back from his daze. With a grimace, Kise ran forward as fast as he could. Grabbing his sword and then jumped, swinging it toward the doppelganger who was struggling to chant a magic spell.
Kise’s sword hit the doppelganger's shoulder, making it scream in agony. It growled, aiming the magic spell toward Kise who rolled, successfully avoiding the sudden attack. Another spell slammed the doppelganger, this time straight to its face, it screeched before tumble to the ground.
“YOU! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS?!” it screamed. Its red eyes glared towards Kuroko--their Kuroko, the real one. “WE ARE THE SAME ENTITY! IF I DIED, THEN YOU’D BE PERISHED AS WELL!”
Kise’s sword clattered to the floor.
Kuroko smiled, he ignored the shocked gasps of his friends who were busy fending the doppelganger's minions. “And for that, I am glad.” Kuroko stepped forward, holding his spell book in his left hand. His right hand waved, making a simple spell and gesture, forming a barrier between them. The wind that was sweeping his baby blue hair stopped when a large magical barrier formed, sealing both Kuroko and his doppelganger inside the barrier.
“Kurokocchi! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? LET ME SEAL HIM!”
Kise’s scream echoed inside the barrier. Kuroko inhaled sharply, but did not budge. His blue eyes stared straight into the crumpled doppelganger in front of him. He did not dare to look back at his friends to see their reactions, especially Kise’s.
Because Kuroko knew, if he saw Kise now, his resolve would crumble, just like his heart.
“I am truly glad, that we are connected.” Kuroko stopped his step, his hand creating a ball of dark purplish energy, the same energy like his doppelganger had used. The Fell Dragon’s power.
“YOU FILTH! YOU CHOOSE SIDE WITH THOSE WEAK HUMANS! WHILE WE CAN BE GOD!” it screamed, even though its body had been weakened.
“I am no god, I am just a mere human.” Kuroko raised his hand, the energy ball crackled on his palm. He aimed at its heart, wanting to finished it once for all. His eyes never left the doppelganger’s, wary of another sneak attack. “A mere human who loves another…”
A soft whisper, before the energy ball launched, hitting its target dead on.
“YOU- FOOL-! ARGHHH!” it scream, before the barrier shattered. The doppelganger groaned, little by little its body disintegrated into a purple mist that was slowly swept by the wind.
And the same thing started to happen to Kuroko.
“Kurokocchi!” Kise ran, approaching Kuroko in desperation. His eyes watered when he saw Kuroko give him a pained smiled, despite the purple mist had begun to emits from his body. “Why did you-”
“This is the best option, Kise-kun. For everyone’s future, for you and your children.”
“There must be another way-” Kise’s sentence was cut by Kuroko’s cough, blue flower petals spitted from his mouth. Kise eyes widened, shocked. “The flower curse? Since when-” Kuroko’s finger touched Kise’s lips slowly. Kise blinked his eyes, small droplet of water started to form in his hazel eyes.
“It doesn’t matter anymore, Kise-kun. My time is already up-” Kuroko coughed another amount of flower petals. Kise clenched Kuroko’s hand, feeling the purple mist -which is Kuroko’s body- slipping from his fingers.
“Be happy, Kise-kun. May we meet again, in a better life… and-” Kuroko’s words were cut off suddenly when Kuroko’s body evaporated, leaving only a silent cloak in Kise’s grasp.
Kise’s scream of agony was swept by the wind, together with the purple mist that was mixed with the small blue petal flowers, designating Kuroko’s passing in their last war.
And please, forget me not.
-----
Kise groaned when his alarm clock rang loudly. He rolled over in his bed, successfully finding his alarm clock after blindly groping at his table top, and shutting the damned thing off. He sighed, savoring the silence and sinking his face again into his soft pillow.
“Oi brat, wake up! Or I’ll leave you behind!” A voice boomed loudly rom outside of his room, making Kise groan in irritation. His cousin could be a real jerk sometimes.
“I’m up, I’m up! Sheesh! what’s got your panties in a twist, Nash?” Kise grumbled, walking out of his room, sluggishly moving toward the bathroom.
“I already told you, I have to pick up a friend this morning. Which part of my words that you failed to understand, Kiddo?” Nash retorted when he appeared out of nowhere, and booped Kise’s head. Kise cringed, rubbing his head while muttering profanities.
“We are only six years apart, Nash. I’m not a kid.”
“I call one when I see one. Besides, it doesn’t matter six or even one year, the point is, I’m still older.” Nash smirked, and then he kicked Kise toward the bathroom. “Hurry up, we ain't got forever.” Nash sighed when Kise rolled his eyes. “He’s a sweet guy, I don’t want to make him wait.” hearing those words Kise’s eyebrows vanished under his bangs, but before he could tease Nash, the latter had already beaten him to it. “Your sandwich is in the kitchen, meet me up in the porch when you’re ready.”
Kise grumbled, taking his towel and a set of clean clothes, before stripping off his pajamas. He turn on the shower, starting to lather his body with soap. Unconsciously, Kise’s gaze falls onto his chest, where a tattoo was emblazoned there.
His soul mark tattoo.
Kise's gaze trailed the small patch of flowers. Its blue colored petals spread out from his left chest into his right stomach. His lips turned into a small smile. He remembered clearly when he was younger, he hated his soul mark. No, hate would be a strong word.
Back then Kise did not like it, those small flowers to be more precisely. They looked so small, so fragile, so… uncool- not like Nash’s big bold roses and snake that adorned his right arm up to his neck. But that feeling perished when Kise knew the flower’s name.
Forget me not
Kise didn’t care if people thought he was such a sap, but the moment he knew the flower’s name, his heart soared. Knowing that his soul mate -wherever they were- would never forget him no matter what—it made him feel warm and loved. It helped him undergo his turmoils.
For years, those tattoo had supported him, and it made Kise wonder what kind of life he would face when he met his soulmate.
Kise chuckled. Yep, he was indeed a sap.
A honk was faintly heard, followed by Nash’s annoyed holler, snapping Kise out of his daze. He hurriedly finished his shower and changed his clothes before Nash could start to chew him off again. Taking his sandwich and shoving it to his mouth, Kise strode to the porch. He saw that Nash was already seated behind the wheel in his sleek SUV, and Kise could feel the irritated glare that Nash sent to him behind his sunglasses.
Kise stuck his tounge out and then hopped to the passenger seat.
“C’mon, don’t wanna make your sweet guy waiting too long, do we?” He smirked. Nash harrumphed in annoyance and started off the engine.
----
“I’m going to propose to her, Kurokocchi…”
Kuroko stopped reading. His eyes shifted from the tome he was reading toward Kise, who were sitting in the chair nervously. A soft blush dusted his cheeks.
“Right now?” Kuroko asked, his voice suddenly became raspy, his throat dry, and something twisted painfully in his chest.
“No- not now.... Soon,” Kise said. Kuroko felt another twist in his chest. He schooled back his face to his infamous poker mask, trying not to wince. “When the war is over, I think.” Kise scratched his head, contemplating on his plan.
“Ah. I see. After the war is a good thing.”
“You think so?”
“Yes-” something rose from his stomach, “Your halidom needs good news after this long war. I think aside from the incoming peace, their beloved crown prince’s marriage will bring joy to them.” Kuroko tried to swallow back the bile in his throat.
“If my tactician said so!” Kise chuckled lightly, his voice sweet as honey, before he rose from his chair. Happiness clearly radiated from his tone. As Kise’s right-hand man and tactician, Kuroko tried to smile along in happiness for his friend, but it seemed it came out as an awkward grimace instead. “Are you alright, Kurokochi?” Kise stepped forward, his brow furrowed, while his facial expression changed from joy into a worried one.
Kuroko raised his right hand, stopping Kise from inching closer to him. “I’m fine, Kise-kun. Just tired and… a little bit surprised… I think. I never knew you courted her. I must admit, I’m quite shocked.” He paused after another pain stabbed his chest, “I just never thought that you would settle down this- ah… quickly.” Kuroko gritted his teeth at the reality of his own words, adding salt to his opened wound. Maybe… deep inside, he had a masochistic tendencies that he himself hadn’t realized.
Kise smiled, “Yeah, it never crossed my mind either. I clearly did not feel anything to her after saving her village.”
Then why? Kuroko was very tempted to ask. But he chose to keep silent instead, waiting for the dreaded truth to come out slowly from Kise’s mouth, even though Kuroko knew that Kise did not mean to hurt him.
“But... I just can’t get her out of my head-” Kise paused, “So whenever we passed by, I-”
“You visited her.” A sheepish nod, making Kuroko grip his cloak unconsciously. The pain was starting to become unbearable. He must stop this discussion now, before his body surrendered to the pain in front of Kise.
“I wish you good luck and happiness, Kise-kun.” Kuroko smiled bitterly, his eyes never left Kise’s, while his hand closed the tome he had been reading, indicating that he wanted to rest and their conversation was over. Kise halted his rambling, and then nodded, knowing Kuroko well enough to read his habit from his gesture.
“Thank you, Kurokocchi. I’ll take my leave, so take your time to rest. We still have a battle against the mad king ahead of us.” Kise said while opening the tent flap, his gaze still locked on the now pale-looking Kuroko.
“You too, Kise-kun.” A soft nod from Kise, before he walked out, the tent flap swished and closed, Kise light armored footsteps slowly faded. After a while, silence greeted Kuroko’s hearing, signaling that Kise was already far enough from his tent.
Kuroko dropped his mask, wincing in pain before his body started to tremble. He clutched his chest, while slowly taking a deep breath, trying to ease the pain that was constricting there. Droplets of sweat trickled, plastering his baby blue hair onto his forehead. He groaned in agony when it became hard to breathe.
Kuroko felt his body became incredibly hot and stuffy. He gasped, trying to get air as much as he could. A gulp, and suddenly he felt another bile rise in his throat, and this time he coughed.
He spewed small, blue flower petals onto his palms.
Kuroko’s throat burned in pain, his chest twisted, his breathing harsh, but he felt nothing. He sat there for a while, staring blankly at the petals on his hand.
The infamous Hanahaki curse was now bestowed upon him.
-----
Kise’s fingers drummed slowly in his thigh, dancing in tunes with the music that Nash played from the player. He hummed lightly, enjoying the not so familiar landscape towards the airport and ignoring Nash who was clearly busy steering the car.
They were traveling in good mood until they got stuck in a traffic jam.
“Tsk. Traffic jam already? Give me a break!” Nash cursed, slowing his SUV, lining it together with other cars. Kise sighed, preparing himself for Nash's bad mood onslaught during the standstill. He put his left hand in the car rear glass, and put his chin in the palm of his hand. His fingers fiddled a little with the cd player, before Nash’s tantrum finally annoyed him. Kise needed to do something before Nash started to cuss and chew his ear off.
“This friend of yours, do I know him?”
“No.”
“I should have known, none of your friends that I know can be described as sweet.” Kise mused, and Nash tsked in irritation. Whoops. Wrong move. Kise tried another question.
“Where did you meet him?”
“College.” At this, Kise quirked an eyebrow. He should know this guy if he was Nash’s college buddies. “At the court.” Nash added, seeming to know Kise’s logic pattern.
“Basketball?”
“Yea.” Nash answered, turning the volume up when his favorite music was playing.
“Which team?”
“Tsukuba’s.” Kise paused at Nash’s answer, before he snorted and laughed out loud.
“Don’t tell me that this guy was the one who beat your team in the all Japan Intercollegiate championship, and stopping your winning streak at college?” Nash’s silence is enough answer for Kise, and he laughed again. “Now I’m curious in meeting this sweet guy.” He smirked while trying to avoid Nash’s hand that was reaching out to boop his head. It was in vain, though.
“Hey! Not fair!” Kise groaned, rubbing the back of his head.
“Shut it, Kid. Or I’ll leave you here instead.”
Kise pouted, “You wouldn’t dare.” Nash just stared him with his sunglasses still intact, one of his blond eyebrow rose under his bangs, daring Kise to try him. Kise groaned, and decided to stop his teasing. “What did I do in my past life that made me blessed with a horrible cousin like you?”
“Maybe you broke a girl’s heart, or a guy. Like what you did in high school.” Nash answered seriously. Kise was tempted to kick him, but because it was currently impossible, he decided to do it later.
Kise looked to the front, realizing that the traffic jam already dispersed. The SUV sped up, and Nash sighed in relief, knowing that he wouldn't be late to pick up his friend. Kise’s lips quirked into a small smile. He decided that maybe this sweet guy was as interesting as he heard.
----
“I can’t kill it, my child. My powers are equal with the Fell Dragon. None of us is stronger than the other,” the dragon spoke softly. Its scales glinted beneath the sunlight. The warm breeze that blew softly failed to melt the cold atmosphere that was engulfing them.
“Then, what should we do? We can’t just sit around and see that blasted Fell Dragon ruin our world!” Aomine shouted in irritation, disliking the white dragon’s answer.
“I didn’t say that, my dear child. I can’t kill them, but I can lock them with my power.”
“It means that... we can only seal it?” A somber nod was the answer that Akashi got from Naga, the divine white dragon. Murmurs and whispers were heard afterward. Akashi’s frown deepened, “If... we manage to seal it, how long till they woke up again?” he asked again.
“Every thousand year, the seal’s power will be weakened, giving them the door to their freedom.”
Kuroko was standing behind Kise, watching the interaction, keeping his mouth shut. He did not make any comments or remarks regarding this topic. He stared closely at Kise who was focusing on Naga’s words. Kuroko scrunched his brow a little before letting out a soft sigh, and then he turned his head slowly, gazing through the army’s core team that was consisting Kaijo’s crown prince and his trusted companions and allies.
The main team members itself were not that many, but as far as Kuroko knew, they were there from the beginning of the war, always helping the Kaijo halidom and their royal subjects. Kuroko’s frown deepened when he saw their faces--they looked so wary and tired, some of them were even gifted with visible battle scars and limps, as the results of their prolonged war.
“It's better than total destruction,” Midorima said out loud while fiddling with his glasses, a habit that Kuroko noticed that he did when he was nervous. Murmurs of agreement were heard. Kuroko shifted his gaze back to Naga.
“Yes, it can be sealed. I‘ve bestowed the power to seal him upon your royal sword, my child.” Naga explained, pointing at Kise’s royal sword. Kise glanced at his sword. “Weaken him, and then strike him with your sword. I will lend my strength to help you seal it.” When Naga finished their explanation, Kise nodded in understanding.
“Now we must regroup and make a solid plan to confront the Fell Dragon,” Akashi spoke, as he gathered the group. “We will find a way to weaken and seal it, no matter what. We must succeed this time.” The majority of the group’s members nodded, some of them, like Aomine and Kagami, let out a little cheer, gaining confident knowing that they could win this war, and that Naga was on their side.
Kuroko watched the interactions in silent, and when most of the people were walking out of the room, he stepped closer to the altar where Naga sat. He hesitated when Naga eyed unwaveringly at him, seemingly to know who -or what- he was. Kuroko swallowed the fear that was starting to rise, exhaled his breath, and steeled his determination. He needed the answer for everyone's future, especially for Kise and his family. “Divine one, can I asked you a question?”
Naga nodded softly, its clear eyes never leaving his.
“I am the Fell Dragon, aren’t I?”
----
Kise tapped his phone, sometimes glancing beside him at Nash who was currently searching for his friend. The sunglasses had been removed, now sitting nicely in his pocket. His green eyes flickered, scanning the crowd, while his head turned from side to side.
“He’s not here yet?” Kise asked, amused at Nash’s antic. He rarely saw Nash act like this. Nash’s brow furrowed further, his eyes squinting, trying to get a better view.
“He’s here I think, he’s rarely late. But uh…. He’s unique.”
This time it was Kise who raised his eyebrows.
“He has weak presence. It's already hard to notice him in a quiet environment, it’s even harder in a crowded place like this.” Nash explained offhandedly, still searching his friend. Kise locked his phone, and put it in his back pocket. His eyes scanned the crowd, trying his best in helping Nash.
“How does he look like? Your sweet guy, I mean.”
If Nash wasn’t busy searching, he would have booped Kise for that. But as it was, Nash just chose to ignore the remark and explained his friend’s features instead, “Baby blue hair and eyes, average height, pale skin.”
Kise squinted his eyes, searching the explained person. Baby blue hair and eyes were quite rare, so this guy must be easy to notice, how the hell a guy like this had a weak presence? Nash must have been exaggerating. “What else?” he asked.
”His name is-”
“Kuroko Tetsuya. Nice to meet you again, Nash-kun.”
Kise let out a small shirek and jumped at the sound, too late in realizing that a man popped out of nowhere at his side.
“Tetsuya.” A small chuckle from Nash, “Still unoticable as usual it seems,” Nash stated, smirking at the same time after he saw Kise’s reaction at Kuroko’s sudden appearance. It never bored him seeing people's reaction at Tetsuya, as long as he was not on the receiving end of it, of course.
“And you’re as flashy as usual,” Kuroko replied back in monotone voice, eyeing Nash’s fancy clothing. Nash laughed heartily, ruffling Kuroko’s hair who seemed miffed by the action. Kise, who was ashamed at his earlier outburst, huffed. He tried to reclaim his composure while eyeing the newcomer, Kuroko Tetsuya, who was now standing beside Nash.
Baby blue hair, seemingly ruffled from sleep -or he just forgot to brush it-. An equally baby blue, almond shaped eyes, that were quite big and round, but seemed devoid of emotion. A small, pointed nose, and uninteresting thin lips. Skin that was too pale to be considered healthy, height that was below average, and average looks to boot. Nothing special about this guy. Hell, when Nash mentioned Kuroko’s height, Kise thought the man would stood between 170 cm tall, a common height for a basketball player. But Kuroko’s height was even shorter. It made Kise wonder, how low was Tsukuba’s basketball team’s standard to let this short guy join.
Kise's eyebrow scrunched in further annoyance when he noticed the lack of fashion sense that Kuroko displayed. He never knew there could be a person who would randomly wear a green T-shirt, a yellow scarf, a blue hoodie, blue denims and black sneakers together at the same time. Those clothes were clearly picked up randomly, not a clash color fashion concept he was familiar with in his line of work. Oh, and his backpack was red.
Kise sighed, almost groaned loudly when he came to conclusions that Kuroko Tetsuya was a dull person with a horrid fashion sense. He started to regret following Nash to the airport. This guy clearly did not worth his time, or Nash’s in that matter.
“What’s with the get up?” Nash asked, his left eyebrow rose in amusement. Kuroko just shrugged.
“The plane was cold.” Nash smiled at the answer, rising his hand, untangling Kuroko from the yellow scarf that was wraping him. Kise almost choked at his own saliva when he saw the almost intimate gesture, but he managed to keep a straight face. Though he successfully choked when he realized the green T-shirt that Kuroko wore over his shirt was Nash’s. To be exact, Nash’s basketball uniform from college.
The bold number 4 embolized in green that peeked through the scarf and jacket was a dead giveaway. No wonder Kise never saw that uniform anymore.
Both Nash and Kuroko’s gaze were now on Kise, who felt his cheek heated in annoyance at his own outburst. “I believe we haven’t met before, Kise-kun,” Kuroko suddenly said, offering his hand for a polite handshake. Kise accepted it half heartedly, noticing how small Kuroko’s hand were. Was this guy really a basketball player? Kise mused in confusion. “Nash-kun often speaks highly of you.” Nash groaned at that, while Kise just raised his eyebrows.
“Ah, I see.” Kise answered curtly, clearly not interested in exchanging pleasantries with Kuroko. Kuroko seemed to notice this and didn’t make any further comments. Kise almost sighed in relief, at least he was not stupid. “Can we continue the chit chat at the car?” Kise asked suddenly, “I really don’t want to be late for my photoshoot.” He added the excuse when he noticed that Nash was looking at him oddly.
“Of course,” Nash answered, and if he was suspicious at Kise’s attitude, he did not show it. He offered to bring Kuroko’s backpack, making Kise gag inwardly. The Nash he knew would not act... smitten like this. Nash was strong-headed, nasty to a certain extent, and loathed people who were not in his league. And Kise was certain that Kuroko was way over Nash’s league. Kise noted how Kuroko shook his head, rejecting Nash’s offer and how Nash sighed in exasperation.
They walked in normal pace, with Kise lagging behind the pair, not wanting to be seen at close proximity with the sad epitome of fashion blasphemy. Kise let his eyes wander to his surroundings, sometimes eyeing the pair when they were too immersed in their talking. Still not over the shock for knowing that a lame guy like Kuroko Tetsuya had earned his cousin’s attention.
Kise sighed in relief when they reached Nash’s SUV. When Nash unlocked it, Kise opened the front passenger door and seated himself there, ignoring Nash’s raised eyebrow. Kuroko could sit at the back seat, the trunk, or even the blasted tires for all he cared, but he wouldn’t give his seat that easily. Kise did not care if he were considered childish and petty, as long as Kuroko didn't stain his favorite seat.
While Kise acted like a child, Kuroko just opened the middle passenger door and sat there. Not noticing or not even paying attention at Kise’s behaviour. Nash let out another frown before he hopped in, and turned on his car.
They rode in silence until Nash decided to speak, “I’ve put the aircon in low, Tetsuya. You can open your jacket.” Nash’s eyes flicked from the rearview mirror, his gaze locked with Tetsuya who give him a shrug, and opened his scarf and jacket.
Unconsciously, Kise’s gaze shifted to the rearview mirror, eyeing Kuroko. His breath stilled. Because he was clearly not prepared to see a familiar tattoo that adorned Kuroko’s left hand up to his neck. Something ugly and painful twisted at Kise’s chest.
Kise glared.
Nash’s soul tattoo was glaring back at him from Kuroko’s body.