A... hahahaha... I don't even have any reason for not updating for almost 2 months, I'm sorry—

Beta'ed by C.C Brittania.

Enjoy!

Chapter 14 :The First Mistake

"The hall... is full of blood..." Tetsuya muttered. His eyes fixated on the scene before him. Seijuurou immediately rushed to his side, opening the door wider. Tetsuya did not miss the surprised expression on his face.

The hall was messed up. The walls were splashed with blood; several pools of blood could be seen on the floor. At the end of the hall, there was a body of a human military soldier laying still. Tetsuya immediately went to his side; he checked his pulse as he assessed the injury in his body.

"He is dead, he was stabbed right through the heart. The weapon was most likely a small dagger. A one-hit kill." Tetsuya explained as he traced his fingers around the wound.

Tetsuya continue his inspection of the body while Seijuurou surveyed the area for intruders. Deeming the immediate vicinity safe he proceeded to his and Tetsuya's office

Tetsuya followed suit immediately he was done with his inspection. He saw Seijuurou preparing his sword by chanting spells on it. Looking around the office, he noticed that it was in the exact state they had left it in prior to their departure.

"I'm guessing the barrier around this room is what is keeping it safe. They didn't try to break the barrier?" Seijuurou queried.

"They probably knew that we were not here, or they tried but it didn't work. I'm thinking it's the former though. I would have felt something if someone tried to break the barrier, no matter how futile the action." Tetsuya explained.

"The office aside, we need to check the rest of the castle. The intruders might still be present." Seijuurou said. "Prepare for battle, Tetsuya. We will fight if they are still here." He commanded.

"I understand."

They cautiously moved away from their office and passed through a few halls but they didn't find the perpetrators. However, they saw blood and dead bodies littered everywhere. They were about to reach the main hall when Seijuurou gestured for Tetsuya to stop moving.

"There is a battle going on ahead, there are only two of the intruders there. We'll join in the fight as soon as we arrive." Seijuurou said in a barely audible voice.

"How did you know?"

"There are faint sounds of metal striking each other. It's very faint so you might not notice it."

True to Seijuurou's words, the closer they got to the main hall, the louder the sound became. When they took a peek into the hall, they saw two masked men fighting against Kise and Murasakibara. Both pairs seemed equal in strength as neither side showed signs of losing.

Seijuurou drew his sword from its scabbard and attacked one of the masked men. His sword hit its target and both of them took a few steps back. He went back to his fighting stance, about to attack them again when a loud voice made him pause.

"Akashi Seijuurou is back! Retreat!" The voice from upstairs said. Five other masked men jumped down and the seven of them immediately ran for the exit, only to find the exit blocked by Tetsuya.

"Please do not think of escaping so easily from here." Tetsuya said. This surprised the men and three of them instinctively jumped backwards, to where Seijuurou stood.

One of them then threw something to Tetsuya's left, towards Kise and Murasakibara direction. It landed behind them and it blew up, the explosion made a hole in the wall, leading outside. They ran for that opening, passing by Kise and Murasakibara who had fallen because of the explosion.

Seijuurou tried to pursue them but that proved to be futile as most of them had disappeared after their exit. He threw his sword and it impaled one of the men, resulting in his immediate death.

The main hall was silent as everyone stared at the hole in the wall.

"Are you all alright?" Tetsuya asked.

"I'm... okay." Kise answered.

"I'm alright, Kuro-chin."

"How about you, Seijuurou-kun?"

"I'm fine. Are there any injured men, aside from those that are dead?"

"There are twelve injured men; they're in the medical room with Midorima-cchi right now." Kise reported.

"Alright. Ryouta and Atsushi, check the whole castle, there may be more casualties. I want the report in my desk tomorrow morning. Tetsuya and I will check the medical room to see the injured ones." Seijuurou commanded.

"Understood." They replied.

"Where is Aomine-kun?" Tetsuya asked.

"He's injured too." Kise said.

"Daiki was injured by those men?" Seijuurou was really surprised by Kise's reply.

"They used underhanded attacks. Aomine-cchi got caught in one of their traps."

"Include that in the report too. We'll be going now, Tetsuya." Seijuurou said as he walked away. Tetsuya followed right behind him as they walked to the medical room.

As soon as they arrived, they looked at the patients' condition; most of them had serious injuries. Midorima was working with the doctors and nurses there to save one of the most critical patients. He had a cut near his heart, and the blood wouldn't stop flowing out despite their efforts to stop it.

"Seijuurou-kun, I will use my healing spell." Tetsuya suddenly said.

"No. You can't waste your power."

"But it's the life of a human being on the line. I don't mind doing it."

"It's just a human, losing one more person won't make the human race extinct."

"Akashi-kun!" Tetsuya shouted, unconsciously changing the way he called Seijuurou. "I don't care if it's only one or one hundred human. A life is a life. It's something that's need to be protected and treasured. If I can do something to save his life, I'll do it!"

"No, Tetsuya."

"I'm not listening to you." he said, refusing to back down.

"It's alright, you don't have to use your power. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Seijuurou acquiesced. "Don't use your power."

"But-"

"I'll use my power."

"Wh... at?"

"I'll use my power. Don't assume you are the only one with the ability to do a large scale healing spell, I can too"

"You don't have to, Akashi. We're already working on this man. His bleeding will stop soon" Midorima suddenly interrupted, but his voice was laced with uncertainty.

"I am not listening to that." Seijuurou said. "My spouse really wants to save him after all." He added, smiling slyly as Tetsuya blushed upon hearing his words.

"Heal these men, Raphael." Seijuurou recited. A white light engulfed the room for a while before dispersing.

"It's... done?" Tetsuya questioned. He immediately looked towards the soldier that's being treated by the doctors.

"The... The bleeding stopped and the wound has closed. We just need to bandage it to prevent it from reopening, same goes for all the patients." One of the doctors said and the rest nodded as they began their task of bandaging the patients.

"Thank you, Seijuurou-kun."

"You're welcome." Seijuurou said, his eyes visibly softening. "Now, Shintarou,"

"Yes?"

"Where is Daiki? I need to speak to him."

"He is in his room. I treated him there." Midorima said, fixing his glasses.

"Alright. Let's go, Tetsuya."

"Yes, Seijuurou-kun."

"So, Daiki, why did they attack this place?" Seijuurou asked right after they arrived at Aomine's room.

"Ha? How should I know?"

"The fact that they went as far as injuring the infamous Aomine Daiki by doing underhanded tricks told me enough. No sane person will try to risk themselve by trying to hurt you." Seijuurou explained. "That means, they have their own motives for attacking you and I believe that is the reason they came to the castle."

"They're probably Kenji's underlings..." Aomine muttered.

"Kenji's? They knew you and Ryouta were the one that assasinated him?"

"Well... I thought we were discreet enough..."

Seijuurou glared at Aomine, while Tetsuya thought about Aomine's words. "How did they find out, Aomine-kun?" Tetsuya asked.

"Dunno. Kenji probably did some telepathic shit with his underlings when we were fighting him." Aomine said. "Kise said that Kenji had some kind of 'contract' with his underlings that makes it possible to speak telepathically"

"Telepathy..." Tetsuya mumbled. "I don't know much about it, I'll gather some information later. Is that alright, Seijuurou-kun?"

"Yes. We need to know the kind of contract Kenji had with his underlings. It will be bad if the Hunter Association know we were the ones that assasinated Kenji." Seijuurou said. "Rest then, Daiki. I want your report tomorrow morning, seeing as your wound is not too severe."

"Yes..." Aomine said. They proceeded to leave his room, when his voice stopped them "Oh yeah, you two call each other by first name now? Congrats."

"There is nothing to be congratulated about Daiki." Seijuurou commented.

"You don't sound sincere, Aomine-kun." Tetsuya added and both of them left without saying another word to him.

They were walking to their office in silence, when Tetsuya broke the silence:

"I think we should expand our barrier to the whole castle, Seijuurou-kun. To prevent similar attacks in the future" Tetsuya suggested.

"We'll talk about this inside our office, Tetsuya." Seijuurou said sternly. He nodded and they continued walking until they reached their office.

"Lock the door." Seijuurou commanded after they entered their office. Tetsuya complied without questioning Seijuurou. After which he walked to the sofa where Seijuurou sat.

"Is someone watching us?" Tetsuya asked warily.

"I don't know. I felt another presence during our walk here, but it's very weak." Seijuurou answered. "Anyway, about your suggestion, I agree. But, will your power be able to cover the whole castle area while leaving enough for you to fight if the need arises?"

"I... don't know." Tetsuya said. "But I want to try it."

"Alright. Let's try it." Seijuurou said and Tetsuya started chanting the spell.

"This is our holy ground, become one with me and protect this place. Unbreachable barrier, I am Akashi Tetsuya, recognise me." He recited and a transparent veil quickly covered the whole castle. Seijuurou smiled seeing it but his smile quickly faded away. Tetsuya rapidly lost his strength and crumbled down, but he was caught in time by Seijuurou.

"Tetsuya?" Seijuurou said worriedly. He started sweating and his breathing became labored. The barrier slowly dissipated , allowing his a breathing to become normal again.

"I'm sorry... Seijuurou-kun. It seems that holding the barrier in place alone is difficult..." he said.

"It's alright. You don't have to put up the barrier alone."

"What do you mean?"

"We'll share our magic power. That way, you won't be too drained." Seijuurou said. "Also, let's downgrade some aspects of the barrier. We won't need anti-transmitting device for the whole castle right? And others like-" Seijuurou continued explaining about the part where the barrier should be downgraded, and Tetsuya gave his opinion on Seijuurou's choices.

"Alright, I understand. I'll start first." Tetsuya said as he recited the same spell from before. But this time, the barrier didn't come out as a veil but as transparent strings.

"Strings of small barrier. I see... My turn then." Seijuurou said. "This is our holy ground. Become one with meas I am with Tetsuya. Unbreachable barrier, I am Akashi Seijuurou, recognise meand protect this place." Seijuurou recited. This time, the barrier came out as a red transparent strings and started intertwining with Tetsuya's strings of barrier.

It took a while before it was done. The finished product revealed a perfectly twined barrier.

"How do you feel, Tetsuya?"

"I'm okay. This way, the barrier won't consume too much of our power and energy." Tetsuya said with a slight smile. "But, I should probably sleep here tonight. I don't think I can walk to the dormitory." He said as he closed his eyes.

"I'll accompany you here then." Seijuurou said. A few seconds of silence fell before Seijuurou started talking again. "Tetsuya,"

"Yes?"

"How about sharing a room with me?" Seijuurou asked.

"Sharing a room? Why?"

"So that I don't have to look for you in dangerous situations." Seijuurou said. "Besides, you didn't mind sleeping with me in my house."

"Alright." Tetsuya said, smile graced his face. "I'm relaxed when I'm with you. You're a pleasant company too. Of course I don't mind sleeping with you."

Seijuurou was so surprised at Tetsuya's answer, he stared at him for a while.

Tetsuya looked at him questioningly. "Seijuurou-kun?"

"Yes, what is it, Tetsuya?"

"You've been staring at me."

"Ah, is that so?" Seijuurou said. "And, my name. Have you gotten used on using my first name?" He asked, effectively changing the topic.

"It still feels a little weird, but I guess I could get used to it. I need to keep on reminding myself to not call you by 'Akashi-kun' though." Tetsuya answered.

"You'll get used to it soon enough." Seijuurou said. Their chat continued until late into the night. They slept on the sofa, deeming it comfortable enough. Well, at least more comfortable than sleeping at the cold floor tiles.

Jacket used as blankets and with a warm heater, they slept peacefully.

Note : The distance between their office and the dorm building ismore or less six kilometres.

Thank you so much for those that reviewed in the previous chapter, I don't even understand why are you guys still reading (or waiting) for the continuation of this. I'm so moved that you guys like my story.

And I'm sorry if the story starts getting weirder... or something. If you have something you don't understand just tell me! I'll do my best to explain it~

(*wishpers* Do you guys know how embarrassed I am when I typed those spells? It's so embarrassing /hide)

So, how about reviewing this chapter too?