Chapter Text
Laboured breathing. Quickened footsteps. Twigs cracking under their weight.
He was running. He barely knew where he was going; it was so dark and the snow on the ground grabbed at his feet with each step and tried to pull him down with its icy grip. Not many flakes got through the canopy of dark green pines above him, but occasionally some snow would tumble from the rustling branches and fall on his face, causing him to flinch instinctively before he could carry on.
He gritted his teeth, pressing on and vaguely hearing the rush of a river next to him. I can easily keep going. The border isn’t far from here. Damn them, I knew escaping had been too easy!
After an undisturbed burst of speed, he began to relax, when all of a sudden something flashed in the darkness and made him come to a dead halt.
He swung his head around and almost shouted into the night, but quickly calmed himself. Not now. If there is anything there, shouting will just reveal your position. Come on, Makoto. Use your brain.
Letting out a breath, he turned and continued to slip through the trees, but slowly this time and testing the ground before stepping to avoid anything that would make a sound. He needed to be calm. Running blindly wouldn’t help – it would just get him caught again. Not that escaping again would be hard; the two brats had let him get out on purpose.
The flash came again, briefly tinting the trees gold before vanishing. He ignored it. Whatever it was, he could outsmart it.
He immediately stopped again when something he noticed out of the corner of his eye made him turn his head.
Brief alarm coursed through his veins at first, but then slowed and drained away. In the darkness, a single gold eye was glowing. It was fixed in position, as if it belonged to a person, but he couldn’t see anyone there because it was so dark. However, he recognised the eye.
A smirk crossed his lips as he turned to face it. “You.”
A level voice came from the direction of the eye. “Yes, me.”
The eye vanished. The man was left in darkness once more.
Before he could carry on walking the eye appeared again with a flash, only this time on his other side. “You don’t seem surprised.”
“I had my suspicions.” The slope of his shoulders had no noticeable tension whatever, and his dark eyes stared straight into the golden orb. “Fire doesn’t make people just vanish, after all. You had to have gone somewhere; there was no corpse. Ah, speaking of which, how did you manage to alter the flames like that? I’m interested.”
The eye stared at him, unblinking. “You’re about to find out.”
That was the last of the eye’s words for now and it vanished into the blackness once more. The man narrowed his eyes at the spot where it had once been, then shrugged. “Well, that was just rude.”
Not wanting to stay in one spot, he carried on. He made sure to be on his guard as he walked, of course. He needed to be prepared for anything, especially after the eye’s last words.
However, preparation wouldn’t have been enough.
The eye appeared again, right in front of him, succeeding in making him flinch, but before he could come out with a comment it vanished, then appeared again even closer. His heart pounded and he took a step back. At this distance he could tell it wasn’t accompanied by a person. “Hey, hey.”
It closed, opened, closed again, and then suddenly multiplied.
Golden eyes stared at him from every angle – eyes of different sizes and shapes, even different transparencies. His own eyes widened for a moment before he managed to calm himself, raising his hands and shrugging. “Nice try, but you’re going to have to do better than that—”
His speech was suddenly cut short as he looked at his hand.
A golden eye stared back at him, his skin stretching and moving as it blinked.
His breath hitched, and in that instant his skin stretched and forced itself open into multiple more golden eyes, rippling up his arms and to his neck as if controlled by a deadly infection. His hands began to tremble – some part of him seemed to know it was an illusion and that his skin wasn’t actually sprouting eyes, but their intense, piercing gazes and the uncontrollable panic that was growing inside him soon made his instincts take over and he bolted out of the area.
The eyes followed him, spinning and growing and shrinking and dancing, turning his brain to mush and preventing any rational thoughts from entering his head. He stumbled and tripped – he’d lost his sense of direction, didn’t even know where he was going anymore – just needed to get away from the relentless eyes. They seemed to be multiplying even as he ran, a spiral of eyes reaching to the sky – in a weird way it reminded him of the way the fire had suddenly grown tenfold at the execution. He’d completely lost his bearings.
The man didn’t realise how loud the sound of rushing water was growing until it was too late.
The ground fell away beneath his feet, and he gave a shout as he tumbled straight into the ice-cold grip of the river.
After a splash, the woods were silent once more.
It was almost as if nothing had ever occurred. There were no yellow eyes watching the surroundings, just a few footsteps imprinted in the snow and a streak of mud by the river where something had slipped. A hushed atmosphere hung over the forest.
It wasn’t devoid of presence, however. A younger man stepped out of the bushes, making his way towards the river and leaning out to survey the flow. The disturbance had disrupted it briefly but now it was back to its normal pace, swiftly rushing over the rocks and racing away with anything that fell into its clutches.
He stepped back and rubbed his head slightly. That little spectacle had given him a slight headache.
“Hello, Akashi-kun.”
The man stopped, hesitating before turning to where the voice had come from. “Hello, Tetsuya.”
Another figure emerged from the shadows, his hood covering his head. However, his blue eyes were still visible. “Is your head okay?”
“It’ll fade soon.” Akashi stepped away from the riverbank. “Good work, by the way. I see your illusions are as good as I remember.”
“Thank you.” Kuroko remained expressionless, aside from a brief flicker of unease at Akashi’s words. “Did the final spell work?”
“It did.” Akashi’s left eye glowed briefly to demonstrate this fact, before fading back to red again. “It was a lot easier the second time.”
“Have you told Furihata-kun?”
A pause.
Kuroko blinked at him. “I see.”
“He doesn’t need to know about it just yet. I have a feeling it would shock him.”
“Akashi-kun, I don’t think you have enough faith in him. I’ve only seen him twice, and even I can tell he’s stronger than you think he is.”
Akashi narrowed his eyes. “You’re lying.”
Another pause. A vague hint of surprise crossed Kuroko’s face, but it was soon gone. “You noticed.”
“I did. Several times, in fact. How long have you been living in Seirida for?”
“A few months.”
“Where?”
His eyes gave away nothing. “I’ve been staying with a friend.”
“Oh?” Interest lined Akashi’s tone. “It can’t have been Daiki or Satsuki.”
“It’s not. But that’s not what we’re talking about.” Underneath Kuroko’s solemn stare, Akashi could detect hints of accusation. “When exactly are you going to tell him?”
He stared back, unflinching. “About what?”
“Everything. How being caught was part of the plan. How you did the final spell in the fire while being burnt at the stake, and required me and Aomine-kun to ensure you escaped with your life. How you can now see the future whenever you want, without the aid of external sources.” Blue eyes burned into red ones, waiting for an answer.
Akashi turned away. “I’ll tell him when we next meet.”
As Kuroko watched him go, he looked back. “Oh, and Tetsuya?”
“Yes?”
“If you see Daiki, thank him for me. He did well setting up and damaging the stake – I was able to break it easily. Oh, and well done on concealing me with the extra flames.” Red orbs glinted in the darkness. “You’ve improved a lot since we first met.”
Kuroko frowned. “That’s nice of you to say, Akashi-kun, but please don’t talk about us like we’re your employees. You were included in the oath too; if we’re going to be killed, you have a responsibility just like the rest of us.”
Akashi’s eyes gleamed. “Of course.”
As he began to walk away, Kuroko called out to him. “Akashi-kun?”
“Yes, Tetsuya?”
“Be careful.”
Akashi’s mouth curved into a satisfied smile before he turned and vanished among the trees.