Work Text:
Tap, tap, tap…
The quiet park resounded with the gentle tapping of the walking stick. Kuroko Tetsuya walked through the park carefully, listening intently to the voice navigation to get him through the park. Each step he took was with apprehension, for he was still unfamiliar with the landscape of this part of the town.
Kuroko had lived in a foster centre after he losing both his parents and had his sight taken away in an unfortunate car accident. Upon completing his rehabilitation and adapted to life without his sight, his caretaker had transferred him into Teiko Middle School, a public school known for their well-equipped facilities that can cater to the needs of special students.
His caretaker had drove him to school on his first day to settle his administrations but he was then told to have to navigate his own way to and from school thereafter as he needs to, in her exact words, ‘be independent’. Not wanting to impose on his caretaker any more than he should, Kuroko meekly agreed even though he was really afraid of the ‘unknown’ and ‘unseen’ part of the area.
His first day in Teiko was alright. He came in at the start of a new school year, and was given a special tour around the school as he was a third-year student. His formal lessons would only start the next day, where he would be introduced to his classmates and teachers. Kuroko only hope that he would get along well with his new classmates.
As Kuroko followed the directions read out in the navigator, he took note of every small bumps and unevenness of the path, committing them into memory to form a mental map in his mind.
“Oh! You are a student of Teiko too! I have never seen you around before. Where are you heading to? I can lead you there.” A gruff voice offered.
Kuroko turned his unseeing sky blue eyes towards the direction of the voice, “I just transferred to Teiko and am not familiar with this area. Could you perhaps lead me to the bus stop through the park please?”
“Roger that,” the gruff voice replied, taking his arm and leading him away.
The boy sighed silently to himself, glad that there are kind students in Teiko. Little did the teal-head know, he was being led away from his destination, a small angle by a small angle.
____________
“So, you just transferred here… which year are you in?” The gruff voice asked.
“Third year,” came the simple respond.
“We are in the same year then. Class?”
“3B, I think?"
“Then we are in the same class too. I didn’t see you during homeroom though.”
“Ah. I was given a tour around the school today. I will be in class starting tomorrow –” Kuroko stopped dead in his tracks.
“Hmm? What’s wrong, why did you stop?”
Kuroko shuffled his feet around, feeling the change in the texture of the ground. He didn’t notice when he had walked off track, but he knew the path he walked on before was a pavement and not a patch of grass.
“Um… sir –” Kuroko started uneasily.
“It’s Shougo. Haizaki Shougo,” the gruff voice – Haizaki Shougo – corrected.
“Um… Haizaki-san, are you sure this is the right way? We are walking off-path, aren’t we…” Kuroko asked, confusion and anxiety apparent in his voice.
“Oh, don’t worry, this is a shortcut. All Teiko students who uses that bus stop walk this way.” Haizaki assured.
“If you don’t mind, could you take me back to the pavement? It is easier for me to navigate…”
Haizaki shook his head, not that the blind boy could see, “We are almost there though.”
“Alright…” Kuroko conceded despite some parts of his mind insisting that he should not be walking on the grass since it is harder to navigate. After all, the boy was kind enough to lead him to the bus stop, it would be rude of him to demand too much, right?
“We are here,” Haizaki cut through his thoughts.
Kuroko frown. He couldn’t hear the sounds of cars driving pass, nor the sound of traffic in general. Before he could open his mouth to ask, however, he was pushed into the water.
“Ahahahaha! You are amusing man, trusting a guy you have never met before! Do you know, it’s amusing to see people struggling futilely. They fight so hard to achieve something that is so obviously out of their grasp. The look of despair on their face is extremely priceless,” Haizaki took one last look at the desperate Kuroko before turning to walk away, “see you in class tomorrow, gullible new kid.” He mocked.
However, Kuroko was not listening to a word that Haizaki had said. He was too busy struggling in the water, trying his best to stay afloat.
__________
Kuroko was in a car with his parents. They were heading to a resort for a vacation after Kuroko’s second year exam. He was retelling the tales of his school life, talking passionately about the group of Basketball prodigy that he admired – the Generation of Miracles – and how he hoped to be able to play alongside one of them in High School. Kuroko’s parents were listening to his tale intently, utterly amused at how their emotionless child could get so animated and lively when talking about Basketball.
Kuroko was explaining about Aomine Daiki’s incredible speed and agility when their car gave a sudden sharp turn. Apparently, a car was driving against the traffic as the driver was unaccustomed to the left-side-driving traffic of Japan. In an attempt to avoid collision with the other car, Kuroko’s father made a sharp turn onto the right side of the one-way road. The sharp turn causing him to lose control of the car which crashed onto the railings before it headed straight into a lake.
The impact cause Kuroko to hit his face against the back of the passenger seat. His eyes burned, but he forced them open to look around. Both his parents were planted face first into the air bag. He leaned over to his mother when he noticed her moving.
“M…mum?”
“Te-Tetsu-ya…” His mother croaked, “break the window… as…soon as the car is filled up with water, swim up and get help,” she paused, and then cut Kuroko as he was about to open his mouth to protest, “don’t worry about us, your father and I would join you soon after, I promise.”
Mrs Kuroko made a show of slinging her husband’s arm over her shoulder as their son swam out of the window, occasionally looking back to check on his parents.
As soon as Kuroko was out of sight, Mrs Kuroko slumped against the dashboard, coughing out blood despite her lungs screaming in protest. She glanced over to her unmoving husband. Blood were flowing out profusely from his orifices. ‘Compression…’ She thought as she closed her eyes. There is no way for her husband to survive. She too, had a punctured lung, and it took her everything to convince Kuroko to save himself, even making an empty promise in order to achieve that. There is absolutely no way for her and her husband to make it out alive, she barely had any strength to speak, let along move.
‘Well, not that Tetsuya has to know,’ Mrs Kuroko thought bitterly. Despite the sting when the lake water entered her eyes, Mrs Kuroko opened her eyes for the last time and stared lovingly at her husband. She knew their son wouldn’t get out of this incident in one piece, but even so, her last thoughts were in hope that for as long as their dear son is alive, that someone would be able to care for their stubborn son, and keep him company.
__________
Kuroko swam and swam with all his might to the surface of the lake. His eyes were blurry and they burned and stung as the lake water attacked at his eyes. However, the pain he registered were pushed to the back of his mind as adrenaline took over his body, giving him that extra burst of energy to get to the surface of the lake.
‘Almost there… almost there! Hang in there, Mum, Dad!’
__________
When Kuroko reached the bank of the lake, he was exhausted. His eyes stung to the point he could not open them at all. He could feel the lake water flowing down his eyes – or was that his tears… his blood?
Despite it all, however, Kuroko forced his tired body to move, his mind only focusing on looking for help, not even registering when his body gave up and his mind shut down.
When he awakened next, he opened his eyes to see pitch black. Beside him, he heard some whispered words, “Only survival… Infected… cannot be saved… blind for life…”.
Even though he had just awoken, his mind understood what the doctor meant. He had lost his sight as the lake water had infected his eyes. They were beyond saving. But then his mind focused on what was said before that... ‘only survival’.
…Oh.
His mother had failed to keep her promise… He is all alone now, in a dark, black world without anyone.
__________
His current predicament reminded him of that time. Except this time, he couldn’t see the surface of the lake. He couldn’t tell how far away from the bank he was.
Am I going to drown here…?
All Kuroko could do was to struggle as hard as he could, doing his best to bring himself to the surface. He lungs burnt, reflexes forcing him to open his mouth to take in large gulps of air, only for the water to enter, resulting in him swallowing mouthful after mouthful of water.
__________
Akashi Seijuurou was walking through the park connected to Teiko Middle School, relishing the rare moment of being able to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the park without any assignments or responsibilities holding him back.
Despite being scion to the affluent Akashi Conglomerate and growing up surrounded by luxury and opulence, Akashi enjoys the mundane activity of walking home from school every day – he considers it a freedom – a respite from his smothering home.
Of course, his butlers and chauffeur had expressed their disapproval rather vehemently, only reluctantly agree with the condition that he bring along a coat to protect him from the cold, April temperature.
Akashi huffed, half in exasperation, and half in fondness, adjusting his hold on the coat. While it is chilly in April, the air is cool but not cold. The blazer of the Teiko uniform is enough to keep him warm. His butler worries too much.
As the student council president, Akashi had to deliver a speech to introduce himself as the president, welcome the year 1s and to motivate the student body to do their best for the rest of the year. His teachers had told him that the speech were inspiring, they had nothing but praises for him. The basketball club was given an off-day for the entire week to let their members get used to school before their gruesome training begins. Akashi already had their training menu planned for the next 3 months, so there is little that he had to prepare. He only need to memorise the names and faces of all the year 1s, which he could do it without much problem. He remembered being told that a third-year student with special needs would be joining the school formally tomorrow, with today being his orientation to get him used to his new environment. Kuroko Tetsuya, if memory doesn’t fail him. For some reason he couldn’t fathom, Akashi was quite excited to meet the new kid.
Well, all in all, today was a good day.
That was, until he saw Haizaki Shougo walking a distance away, a look of mischief evident on his face.
Akashi sighed. Haizaki had been difficult lately, always up to no good, terrorizing the student bodies. Akashi decided to make a detour, heading towards where Haizaki had come from, seeing for himself what sort of mischief he had caused this time.
What Akashi didn’t expect to see, however, was a Teiko student drowning in the lake.
Without a second thought, Akashi threw his bag and coat on the floor and rushed straight to save the drowning student.
__________
Kuroko was almost running out of strength when he suddenly heard a splash and felt a hand grabbing his. Instinctively, Kuroko latched himself on to the hand, clinging onto it like a lifeline. He felt himself ascending until he reached the surface of the water, taking hungry breaths of air.
Akashi tried to readjust his hold on Kuroko to better secure him. A feat proved to be too difficult with Kuroko clinging so tightly onto Akashi’s arm.
When Akashi gently placed Kuroko onto the grass, Kuroko changed his position from coiling around Akashi’s arm to hugging his torso, left arm clinging onto Akashi’s drenched blazer.
The boy was shivering badly, his lips blue.
Akashi quickly wrapped his coat around the shivering boy. ‘Hypothermia’, his mind supplied.
Once the shock had settled in, Kuroko started crying profusely, head buried against Akashi’s chest and sobbing uncontrollably. Akashi awkwardly put an arm around Kuroko’s back, patting gently and the other held his head securely against him, mumbling words of assurance to the blue-hair student.
When Kuroko was finally calming down, Akashi gently pushed him away slightly to access his condition. Mistaking that he would be left alone, Kuroko renew his hold around Akashi, chanting “Don’t leave me, don’t leave me, don’t leave me, please, please-please-please-please-please, don’t leave me all alone, please” like a mantra.
Akashi wasn’t sure if the boy was referring to their current situation or if he was lost in his memories. One thing he was sure of, however, was that he cannot let it continue. The smaller boy in his arms was having a full-blown panic attack, his hyperventilation getting worse as time dragged on.
He knew that it is inappropriate to do this, especially in the middle of the park in April, but at the moment, Akashi was more concerned about the well-being of the teal-haired boy than how people would judge them. Calmly, he brought his hand to gently rub at the boy’s back, while the other caressed his hair at the nape of his neck.
“Hey, it’s alright, it's alright, I will stay with you if that’s what you want. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you all alone, I won’t abandon you in the middle of nowhere, so please calm down, don’t be scared.” Akashi gently cooed into the ear of the panicky boy
When Kuroko was finally calm and arms limp with exhaustion, Akashi lowered the boy into a more comfortable position. Kuroko, once more, held onto Akashi’s blazer albeit weakly.
“Hey, it’s alright, I am not leaving you,” Akashi assured.
At that, Kuroko loosened his grip on the red-head.
“I am going to take a look at your identity card, okay?”
At Kuroko’s nod, Akashi reaches under the coat that covered Kuroko and took out Kuroko’s wallet from his trousers.
“Kuroko Tetsuya…” Akashi murmured. A hint of recognition flashed across his face, “oh, you are the new kid…”
Now that Akashi had taken a proper look at the boy in his arms, he noticed the soulless, blank look behind his azure blue eyes. The boy looked… beautiful despite his disability. Akashi wondered why he didn’t notice it at first.
“Kuroko, I should introduce myself first,” Akashi started. “I am—”
“—Akashi Seijuurou-san,” Kuroko interrupted softly.
Akashi tilted his head. “You know my name?”
Kuroko nodded slowly, “Opening ceremony… during the… student council president speech… remembered your voice…"
Akashi nodded back, half in acknowledgement, half in amazement, “Are you tired, Kuroko? Why don’t you take a rest? I will stay with you.”
Akashi smiled to himself as Kuroko’s tired eyes fluttered close with a hum. His expression then turned serious. Scoping up his phone from his own pocket, Akashi speed dialled for his chauffeur, silently thankful that his phone was waterproofed.
__________
Akashi placed the sleeping Kuroko onto the couch in the living room before ordering the maids to grab some blankets and call for their family doctor. After making sure that Kuroko was warm and comfortable, Akashi left for his room to look for dry clothes for Kuroko and himself. It took him a while, but Akashi managed to find a pale blue button-up shirt that would likely fit the smaller boy, as well as a grey track pants that can be tightened around the waist. Before he could exit his room, however, Akashi heard a crash followed by panic cries in the direction of the living room.
Rushing down the stairs, Akashi saw Kuroko struggling against the hold of two maids. The flower vast on the coffee table has been knocked over, the table askew.
“No, nonononono, stay away from me, let go of me! Akashi-san, Akashi-san!” Kuroko lashed out blindly in panic.
“Kuroko-sama, please stay calm, Seijuurou-sama would be here soon.” One of the maids tried to placid the terrified boy.
In the mist of his struggles, Kuroko managed to break free from one of the maids, the momentum sending him flying towards the table. He whimpered slightly in pain, yet he kept patting the carpeted floor, searching for something. In a flash, Akashi was beside the blue-haired boy, gently holding him up, ordering the maids with just his stare to leave them. Once they were alone, Akashi turned to the boy whose arms clung onto Akashi like a vine.
“Hey,” He started. “I apologise, I didn’t mean to leave you all alone. I went to get come dry clothes for you so that you would feel better. Here.” Akashi handled the clothes to Kuroko. He left Kuroko to change while he made some hot chocolate. Akashi had never made one before, but he was sure he could manage just fine.
After Kuroko changed and drank the hot chocolate (Akashi was glad Kuroko enjoyed it), he huddled at the corner of the couch, blankets tucked securely around him to keep the heat in, Akashi sitting beside him.
“Kuroko,” Akashi said, slowly, and a slightly bit hesitant. “The pond that you… fell into was rather deep...” Kuroko turned his eyes towards Akashi’s direction, though he was off by a few inches.
“…hence, I didn’t manage to retrieve your bag and walking stick. Water got into your audio guide as well,” He passed the spoilt electronic into Kuroko’s hands. “I will be contacting your caretaker to let him or her know about what happened, alright?”
At that, Kuroko tensed and gripped on to Akashi’s hand.
“D-don’t…” Kuroko pleaded pitifully.
Akashi wasn’t sure if he was afraid of Akashi leaving him or of his caretaker knowing about the incident. To play safe, Akashi replied in a way that would suit either situation. “You don’t have to worry, Kuroko. Everything would be fine; you don’t have to worry a thing.”
Something about the redhead made Kuroko feel safe with him. Kuroko nodded, his grip on Akashi’s arm loosened just slightly.
Akashi smile. He reached into his shirt to pull up an item, pushing it into Kuroko’s hand.
Kuroko gently squeezed the item. It felt like an omamori; a pretty worn out one, from the looks – feels of it. At the frown on Kuroko’s face, Akashi explained, “I will entrust this to you. My mother gave it to me when I was still a child. I always have it with me wherever I go. It is important to me, so I will always come back for it. Hold on to it for me, alright?”
Seeing as Kuroko hooked the omamori around his neck, Akashi assumed that Kuroko is convinced he won’t be left alone for long. On a whim, Akashi ruffled Kuroko’s baby blue hair. It was surprisingly soft. “I will be back, Kuroko”, he said before he left to make a phone call.
__________
A lady picked up the phone on the other line. “Hello?”
“Good evening, this is the Akashi Mansion. I am Akashi Seijuurou.” Akashi greeted. Something about the lady made him uncomfortable.
“Ah, A-Akashi-sama! To what do I owe this pleasure to?” Came the response.
“I have something I would like to talk to you about, are you available at the moment?”
“Ah, yes, of course.”
That’s strange, she doesn’t sound concerned about Kuroko’s tardiness at all.
“Are you the caretaker of Kuroko Tetsuya?” Akashi asked instead. A slightly annoyed sigh can be heard from the other line before it was replaced with the disgustingly sweet voice.
“Ah yes, that blind child. What about him?”
Was that… disdain?
__________
Akashi huffed with annoyance. The caretaker doesn’t sound responsible at all. Instead of sounding concerned with Kuroko’s predicament or relieved at knowing his whereabouts, all the caretaker cared about was Kuroko ‘causing so much trouble for the Akashi family’.
He also caught the caretaker mumbling something about ‘that troublesome child’ who was ‘more trouble than worth’ when Akashi explained about needing to get Kuroko a new walking stick, audio guide and school items.
When asked if she would like to pick Kuroko up, the woman started giving excuses about family issues and whatnot. She also readily agreed to Kuroko staying with Akashi for the day.
How that woman managed to become a caretaker was beyond him. Akashi couldn’t believe that Kuroko actually stayed in that kind of environment. No wonder the boy was so attached to him when he helped the him. Kuroko probably never really felt safe with anyone since his accident
Akashi felt the need to change it – to change everything.
The moment he came back to Kuroko’s side though, Akashi felt his anger and annoyance simmered until nothing was left.
The small boy was curled like a ball on the sofa, body swallowed by big, fluffy blankets. Quiet breathing sound can be heard as he slept, his hand gripping tightly onto Akashi’s omamori.
Akashi buried him hands into the soft blue hair. The owner of said blue hair unconsciously snuggled closer to the hand.
“Young Master,” Akashi’s personal butler spoke in a soft tone so as not to awaken the exhausted boy. “Shall I prepare a room for your friend?”
Akashi hummed for a moment before shaking his head. “No, he would sleep with me tonight; waking up alone in an unfamiliar place would just cause him to panic.” He explained without taking he eyes away from the pale boy.
His butler bowed deeply. “Understood, Young Master. I shall bring the doctor to you when he arrives.” With that, his butler left.
Akashi smiled at the sleeping boy. They had just met, and yet Akashi felt a strange attraction to the boy. He had never felt such a strong desire to protect a stranger before.
Kuroko Tetsuya might just be a really interesting guy.