Title: I'll Be Here

Paring: AkaKuro

Rating: T

Summary: "Don't be afraid," The red head says, "They won't break."

"What happens if they do?"

"Wouldn't you want to know?" AU.

notes: an au no one asked for. this fic was heavily inspired by 'The Book of Life' and 'Hotarubi no Mori e'. and i wanted to try a new writing style and this was the product of that.

The earliest memory that I have of him was when I was three years old. There's only bit an pieces here and there. I was on a hill, my parents had turned their back for a second. I climbing when I lost my balance and toppled over. Suddenly there was a gust of air, lifting me up, a flash of gold and red, and I was sitting on the floor.

I remember him smiling at me, patting my head.

I giggled.

And just as soon as the wind came, he was gone.

-o-

The next time that I meet him was when I was fourteen. I was in my hometown in Miyagi, visiting my grandmother. It was town where everyone knew one another, where not one gossip lost from hearing ears.

Nigou, a husky was given to me as a present by my grandmother, and I had been out in the fields playing that afternoon. He and I were sitting under the shade of a tall tree– I hadn't the clue what it was called, but it kept us away from the sweltering heat of the summer day.

The wind blew to us, and from a distance, out in the open field, there was a stranger standing. He had his back turned from me, but his blazing red head was all that I could notice. His pale skin contrasted with his white button up shirt and black slacks. He had a lithe structure, he wasn't as tall as my father, shorter by a few inches, but his structure oozed a sense of etherealness to him.

And in my eyes, he was beautiful.

Maybe the heat was getting to me, but for a moment I could see gold wings, glittering where the light hit them, like stars in the night sky. Beautiful, majestic gold wings that unfolded.

It took my breath away and I murmured, "Wow."

He turned to me and I jumped covering my mouth from a gasp that was inevitable to come out. He looked straight at me, his eyes piercing ruby, a small smile etched on his face. For a moment, I thought time had stopped.

I blinked, and he was gone.

-o-

On the dinner table that night, I tell my grandmother about the person–at this point everything was still confusing to me, that I had seen on the field. I told her about his beautiful golden wings and his fiery red hair.

"My my, Tetsuya," She says as she sets down a plate of fried chicken on the dinner table, "Maybe he's your guardian angel?"

"A guardian angel?" I ask.

"A person who protects you from harm," She smiled at me patting my head, "Now tell your uncle come down to eat with us."

-o-

I come down by the fields again, this time without Nigou– I really wanted to take him, but uncle had to take him for shots.

The sun was high on the sky, the cicadas singing, and I sat under the shade of the tree from yesterday, waiting for him.

I close my eyes for what it felt like a few minutes and when I open them again, he was there.

"You are looking for me," His voice gave me goosebumps, it was sharp, but strangely I wasn't afraid. It felt familiar almost.

I remembered what my grandmother told me last night about him being an angel, so I ask, "Are you my guardian angel?"

His eyes shown bewilderment for a second and the next my ears were filled with his laughter, "Is that what you think I am?"

"My grandmother tells me that you are," I retort.

"And why is that?"

"I told her about your wings."

They unfold and I could see them clearly, there as beautiful as I remembered them yesterday, but this time I could see them closely. It was an amazing sight, gold the glimmered when the light touched them, I started to reach for them, but stopped myself, afraid that I shouldn't be touching such a majestic creature.

"Would you like to touch them?" He says.

My voice doesn't function like it usually does, which is really embarrassing. I must have looked like a fish out of its bowl with the way I gaped at him, my mouth opening and closing again and again.

He chuckles, it seems as though I was right, "Tetsuya."

I should afraid that this stranger knows my name, but strangely enough, I found that was okay with it. The way his voice said my name, it was warm, it was clear. Defined.

"Don't be afraid," The red head says, "They won't break."

He holds out his hand for me to take and I follow him. His wings unravel themselves and he folds one of them over so that I can easily reach. I thread through smooth feathers, lightly, gently, afraid that they might shatter at any moment.

I couldn't hold out this question any longer so I ask, "What happens if they do?"

"Wouldn't you want to know?"

-o-

I learn that his name is Akashi Seijuurou the next time I come back. I ask him if he's an angel, but he doesn't answer.

"I like to drink vanilla milkshakes," I tell him out of the blue. We were out in an open space and I had brought along a kite with me to fly. Today was a perfect day for it, sunny but not at all sweltering like the other days, it helps that the wind was also in our favour today.

"What is that?" He was at the other end holding the kite, while I was holding the thread ready to run at any moment.

"Well," I start as I tug at the thread, "It's a drink, it's a good way to cool you down on days when it's hot."

"Maybe when you come back, you could give me some?"

"Maybe."

-o-

I bring vanilla milkshakes for us to share the next day.

-o-

I don't learn much about Akashi-san, he doesn't tell me anything. He doesn't tell me where he's come from, or why he's here, but he does tell me one thing.

"I like being here with you."

And surprisingly, I was comforted by those words.

-o-

We go out star gazing the next day.

When everyone is asleep, I sneak out of my room, pass my grandmother's room and I meet him at the edge of the forest. He tells me that he knows a place where we can go, and I follow him.

"Are you dead?"

It's been sort of a game between us now. A game where I try to guess what he is, or who he is.

"Maybe." He says in a light hearted tone. I hold his hand and I sway it carelessly, there's the sound of cicadas in the background, our feet in complete sync with each other's steps.

"Hmmm," I hum, "Are you immortal?"

He halts his steps and crouches in front of me. He looks me in the eyes, raising his hand, he threads his fingers through my hair, "Who's to say?"

"You don't tell me anything." I accuse him.

His eyes widen for a moment but then he covers his mouth to hide his chuckles, "But there's nothing interesting about me."

"Your wings." I tell him.

"My wings." He parrots.

"You can tell me about them."

"Maybe once you remember me."

He stands up and holds out his hand for me, I take it, and for the remainder of the our walk, I don't say anything.

-o-

Akashi-san leads me to a place where the trees don't grow, it's a clearing, it's small and secluded, a secret place.

He sits on the ground and I lay down on the grass next to where he is.

The night sky was clear tonight, and I marvel at the thousands– no, millions of stars on the sky.

"How did you find this place, Akashi-san?"

I feel him laying down next to me as well, "I tend to walk around here from time to time."

"It's so pretty," I voice out.

I was not talking about the stars.

-o-

"Akashi-san, you don't like wakame don't you?"

"I don't, no."

That explains why he doesn't touch the food that I bring for him.

-o-

One day, I ask, "Why are you always here? Can you not go out?"

Akashi-san's smile is sad, he answers me, "I cannot. I am bound to this place."

"Then I will have to spend a lot of my time with you, so you don't get lonely."

He laughs. This time it's genuine.

-o-

"Akashi-san."

The two of us were sitting on the clearing of that secret place that we began to call 'our place'. It's strange how these meetings could become normal for me.

"You'll have to leave when the summer ends won't you?"

"I'll be back the next summer. I'll come back."

He turns to me and as always he reaches to pet my head, ruffling it lightly, "Then I'll be here."

-o-

By next week, my family and I go back to Tokyo, back to a new semester at school, back to tight schedules, back to sounds of noisy cars, back to sights of tall buildings, back to days where hot summers were replaced by cold rain.

-o-

I come back to the our place the next year, he's already waiting for me when I reach it, he's as beautiful as I remembered him last summer, his golden wings were still a sight, it captivated me, caught me breathless.

It didn't take me long to reach him, and when I do, I run up to him, I hug him.

"I missed you." My voice was muffled.

He holds me silently and I breath in his scent.

"I've grown," I tell him.

"Only by a couple of centimetres."

-o-

We're out by the flower fields the next day. He's laying on the flower beds and his wings are spread, lazily, while I weave through flowers next to him.

"I think you snore when you sleep Akashi-san." I tell him, I hear him scoff beside me and his wings flutter creating cool winds, the flower petals swirling around us. He sits up and looks at my little creation– it's a creation no matter how much it looks like it's just a bundle of flowers.

"Did you try to make a crown?"

Try.

"I'm sorry it's not up to your standards Akashi-san," I grumble.

He laughs next to me and gently grasps my arms leading them to his head. He places my 'flower crown' on his red hair.

"I think it's beautiful Tetsuya."

"I think you're only humouring me Akashi-san."

-o-

I tell him about my time in Tokyo. How I joined the basketball club back at home, how the teachers are, how the people at school are, how Aomine-kun and Kagami-kun are always bickering about nonsensical things. How Ogiwara-kun, Aomine-kun, Kagami-kun and I would always stop at a convenience store to get some popsicles after practice–

"And sometimes when we have enough money, we go out for burgers. I usually don't eat them, but Aomine-kun and Kagami-kun are always competing who will eat the most burgers."

We're under the shades of the trees, my back against the tree trunk while his head rested on my lap. His wings are unfurled and I gently thread my fingers across them, and no matter how many times I've touched them, I'm still amazed at how soft they are, no matter how many times I've seen him, no matter how many times I've spent my time with him, Akashi Seijuurou, is without a doubt a magnificent being.

-o-

That night, I had a dream.

It was a city, a city made out of gold, where winged creatures flew.

I dreamt about a red haired person, his face was blurred, but I wanted to reach out to him.

I dreamt of him being next to me, leading me to different places.

I dreamt of him crying begging me not to go.

"I'll find you."

I wake up, breathless as sweat trickles down my face.

"It's just a dream." I tell myself.

But somehow, I don't feel convinced.

It's just a dream.

-o-

Akashi-san is late today.

I sit down with a book at our place, the clearing, and wait for him.

When the sun sets, I realise that he won't be coming. I gather my things and think about anything but the sinking feeling on my stomach.

-o-

That night the dream was different.

Instead of mosaics, instead of bits and pieces, I dream of a whole scene.

I dream about the same blurred face of a red haired man, we're at a beach this time. The waves are calming to my ears. We're sitting at the edge where the water meets the sand and I lean on him, his arms are around my body, warm, comforting, protecting.

"You love the human world don't you?"

"Humans are interesting creatures." It was definitely my voice, "It makes me want to know more about them."

He frowns at me, "You know you cannot."

"Maybe someday."

"There is nothing like that for us."

"Maybe someday," I insisted.

-o-

Akashi-san apologises that he couldn't come yesterday.

Today, we go out fishing.

We're sitting my the riverbank as our lines sway with the stream, I don't ask him where he was yesterday.

I don't ask why there's a bruise on his cheek.

I don't ask why his wings are bandaged.

I don't ask.

-o-

Once again the summer days have come to an end and I have to say my goodbyes to him again.

"You will leave tomorrow." There's no question to it, he's just stating facts.

"Yes." There's a lump on my throat, because I don't want to go back. I don't want to go back to mundane life at the city.

Sure, there were friends, but what are friends when I could spend days with Akashi-san? Where I could spend days with Akashi-san fishing, star gazing, running, flying kites, spend lazy days under the trees with his head on my lap, spend days making ugly flower crowns for him.

"I'll be here when you come back Tetsuya."

-o-

We leave the next day.

Back to Tokyo where the city skyscrapers waits for me.

-o-

In the new semester, Ogiwara-kun sticks strangely close to me. He waits on me when Aomine-kun and Kagami-kun are gone somewhere. He gives me sweets randomly, walks me home after basketball practice.

He's a wonderful friend to have.

-o-

Winter comes and I think of Akashi-san. I think of what he might be doing when it snows. Does he wear clothes suited for the cold? Does he sleep alright at night? Does he think of me like I do?

And then suddenly I realise something.

-o-

Ogiwara-kun asks if he can talk to me after school.

When we're finished our cleaning duties, when we're packing the brooms and dustpans at their respective cabinets, when all our other classmates have gone home and when we're the only two left inside the classroom, that's when he calls for me.

"Kuroko."

"Yes?" I answer.

I notice that his ears are red as is the rest of his face. I immediately connect the dots–

"I like you."

I don't say anything, I stay rooted on my spot and my heart is beating a mile a minute. I'm not sure how to respond. Ogiwara-kun is special to me, but I cannot return his feelings.

I think of Akashi-san.

I'll probably make a strain between the two of us.

And with a heavy heart, I say, "I'm sorry."

-o-

The dreams comes back that night.

This time, I feel sad, anguished.

"How could you have done that?" The same man cries, grasping at my arms, "You've broken rules."

"But I cannot live like this," My heart is breaking. It feels as though I can't breathe.

"We're made absolute," He wipes away my tears but they fall endlessly, "We are made absolute and what you have done, they will banish you."

I can't say anything. I know in my heart that he is devastated, that I am paining him, that what I have done to him is selfish, that I do not deserve his love.

One look from me and he knows that I have made my decision. I kiss him, conveying my woes, my apologies, my thanks and he holds me tight, he doesn't want to let go, but he knows someday he will have to.

As we part, he holds the sides of my head and places his forehead into mine, he whispers, "What will become of me where you are gone?"

I don't reply because I'm not sure myself. What I have done will not be left unpunished.

When I look again, his eyes are determined, "I'll find you."

I wake and my tears are streaming. I grasp my chest, it hurts. It hurts. It hurts.

How could I do that to him?

-o-

Ogiwara-kun still gives me sweets.

In one of our classes he hands me a note void from our teacher's eyes.

I look down at his note.

"I'll wait for you."

-o-

That night, the dream continues.

We are at a place that resembles a courtroom. There are tall pillars and equally as tall beings that glowed sat on desks made of gold. The two of us are at the middle, his hand clasped hard with mine.

"You have a choice," A booming voice came, "We are made absolute, our beings are made with no mistakes."

His eyes are pointed at me, "You are made to collect souls, Kuroko Tetsuya. You have breached rules of our kind. You are no longer welcome into this realm."

"He is young!" The read head retorts, "He does not know better. Please, spare him."

"Being young is not an excuse," A second voice, mellow came, "These rules are what we have followed for thousands of years. You know what will come."

"Pity," The other says, "He had becomings of being great, but what he has done is inexcusable."

"Now, you will have to make a choice."

I blink my eyes open and breathlessly I say, "What an idiot he is."

-o-

The summer comes once more and my family and I are riding the train back to our summer house.

He'll be waiting.

He has been for a while now.

-o-

After dropping my things in my room, I immediately run towards the place that we have made our own.

My tears are falling endlessly and I wipe them with my hands.

When I reach for the clearing, there is no one.

I cannot see him. I call out for him, I shout for his name, I shout until my throat is raw, my heart feels like it'll explode any second. I need to see him, I need to tell him.

Where are you?

"Tetsuya."

My voice hitches. I turn back and I see him. There he is.

His hair is still the same red that I remember, his eyes are like rubies, his wings golden that glistens like the stars in the night sky.

I run to him and envelop him in my arms.

"Why do you wait for me all these years?"

He doesn't answer, but his hold on me tightens.

-o-

"Angels are what humans like call us."

"For beings like us, we can only fall in love once."

"You have the choice of forgetting him and your time together."

-o-

"You chose to wait for me."

"I did."

-o-

I remember now.

Akashi-san likes to read. Akashi-san is a soul keeper. Akashi-san is proper and follows rules of our elders. Akashi-san follows the schedule given to him religiously, he is never late. Seijuurou is perfect. Seijuurou is a being of elegance. Seijuurou is the best of our kind. The one who fell in love with me. The one who suffers because of my selfishness.

"Do not think about it," He says wiping my tears away as he always does.

"How can I not?" He embraces me tightly, "How many years has it been?"

"Three millenniums."

The dam breaks and I am crying once again.

-o-

We stay in each other's arms even after the sun has set.

"I was so happy when I found you again."

"You shouldn't have picked me, Seijuurou."

"You were so short back then, well, not that you are as tall now."

"Seijuurou–"

He sighs, "What's done has been done Tetsuya."

"You torture yourself."

"You forget that beings like us can only fall in love once."

"You should have chosen to forget about me."

"And remember nothing about the time we've spent together? Never."

We remain silent watching the stars, laying side by side, just like what we used to do.

"Tetsuya," Seijuurou's voice is quiet only above a whisper, "When the next year comes, I will not be here."

"Will I see you again?"

"I will find you." He promises.

-o-

I dream of my banishment.

It's painful. Not like you've been stabbed, or shot, or even run over a sixteen wheeler truck at 100 miles per hour.

It's more like you're being unthreaded, every fibre of your being is loosened and burned. It feels like you're being ripped apart, slowly and painfully. Memories of the past six hundred years with Seijuurou flash before my eyes. I'm being chocked with my own strings. I gasp to breathe.

I can see Seijuurou reaching for me, he's shouting, crying for me.

I can see Mayuzumi-kun, another soul keeper, and Midorima-kun holding Seijuurou back and I silently thank them for that. I thank them for not making Seijuurou come with me.

There is someone behind me, he is dark and when he touches my wings, they freeze to his touch.

'D…ea…th…' I gasp.

He doesn't say anything, he clips my wings, and I am nothing.

-o-

We spend that summer just like we do. We go fishing, star gazing, we talk about my life in Tokyo, I bring him vanilla milkshakes, I tease him with his hatred for wakame.

And in the days that we've spent together, not once does Seijuurou bring up our past lives.

-o-

"I heard that there will be a festival," I tell him one day. We're out at the fields, about to fly a kite. He's holding the kite as always while I unreel the thread.

"Will you go?"

"Maybe if you come."

He snorts, "You know I cannot go there."

"It was worth a shot," I smile.

-o-

The day before the festival, I tell Seijuurou to meet me on the riverbank at night.

"Why?"

"Just do so and do not be late." I insisted.

-o-

I adjusted the sash on my hips and looked at myself in front of the mirror. My father's old yukata fit perfectly into my small figure, a light blue cloth with small patterns of white flowers, a dark blue haori draped over my shoulders.

My grandmother compliments me as I go out of the house, she reminds me to call if I'm going to get home late. I nod and run along where I am to meet with Seijuurou.

I think of what Seijuurou would think seeing me in this.

I hope he likes it.

-o-

When he sees me, he tells me,"You are beautiful."

My heart soars and I wish time would stop so that he and we can be together like this.

-o-

"What are you doing?" I ask him when he lifts me up—embarrassingly, like a bride.

I know my cheeks are red, but he must be enjoying this as his face is painted with mirth, "Hold on to me."

"Surely you're not—" I was not able to finish what I was going to say, because Seijuurou leaps and he soars to the sky. My hands grip his shirt tightly.

"Seijuurou!" I shout, "Put me down."

He doesn't, he continues to fly, my heart is beating fast, and I'm afraid I might fall, but he holds me tight against his frame. The wisps of the cold air hits my face, and slowly, I let myself go and watch as the scenery changes. We're high above the sky, we're still near the clearing, and over to the horizon, I could see the festival lights.

He flies to a tall tree and he settles us there. I am on his lap and his arms are wound around me, his face resting on my shoulder. I lean back and I relax under his touch.

The festival is not as fun as this. I think.

-o-

"How is Midorima-kun?" This is the first time I mention someone from our past life.

"He is doing fine, he has found a companion named Takao Kazunari," Seijuurou replies, "He's good for him."

That is all he says.

-o-

When we meet again, he is bloodied and bruised.

I quickly run to him, checking his injuries, his wings were bandaged as is his hands and his neck, on the corner of his cheek he is sporting a large bruise.

"What happened?" I ask.

He smiles and ruffles my hair, "Nothing you should worry yourself about."

-o-

Two days before I have to leave, Seijuurou tells me this will be the last I will see of him.

I wanted to tell him 'no', but I couldn't. So I lean forward and he kisses me.

His fingers are gentle against my skin.

I am taken.

We don't say a word.

But the message is all the same.

-o-

When the sun rises, he is gone.

Two days later, I am back at Tokyo.

-o-

The next year, I don't go back to our place. I don't back to where we met, but patiently, I wait for him to come find me.

Knowing Seijuurou, he will.

-o-

We graduate high school, the four of us, Kagami-kun, Aomine-kun, Ogiwara-kun, and I, a year after that.

Ogiwara-kun approaches me once the ceremony is over, "You are waiting for someone."

"I am."

-o-

Two months after graduation, I move out my parents' house and into a small apartment near my university.

College is exhausting, with papers to be done, projects to finish, and torture that is called finals, but I gladly welcome them as a distraction.

-o-

I write Seijuurou's name in my notebook once and my senior, Riko-san, asks me who this person is.

I tell her that he's a person who doesn't like wakame and she laughs at me.

-o-

Many summers come and go, and it's been six years since I've last seen him. Graduation is fast approaching, and so is my licensure exam. I study like there's no tomorrow.

I wish that he is with me.

-o-

There's a muse in our realms that I remember. His name is Kise Ryouta, he's clingy and annoying, but he is a good friend of ours. He tells us that Seijuurou and I are meant for each other, and that the stars smile upon us.

I can only hope that what he says is true.

-o-

When I am getting ready for work, Nigou is barking at me to give him food.

"You're a greedy dog aren't you?"

I lay his bowl in front of him and immediately he dives to it. I smile and pet him. I stand up to get my things ready and I hear a crashing noise outside.

Nigou looks up from his spot and runs to the front door barking. He looks at me and barks at the front door again, beckoning me to open it.

I rest my bag on the chair, Nigou runs back to me and bites the fabric of my slacks pulling me to the door.

"Alright, alright." I appease him.

-o-

I've seen Seijuurou many times. Six hundred years of being with him in the realm. Enjoying his company during the summer days of my childhood.

I've always remembered him to be beautiful, with his fiery red hair, ruby eyes, and golden wings.

The sight I see when I open the door, shockes me. It's Seijuurou, he's stumped against the wall, bleeding all over. His head, his hands, and there's a trail of blood where he somehow managed to walk to where I am.

I will myself to move, swallowing my shock of seeing him again.

"Seijuurou!" I kneel to where he is.

He is panting, but he smiles at my presence. He lifts his bloodied hand and rests it on the crown of my head, "I found you...Tetsuya."

-o-

I lay Seijuurou on the bathtub and run water for him.

He coughing, choking on his own blood and I hurry to get the first aid kit. To stop his injuries from bleeding.

I unbutton his white button up shirt and I'm baffled with what I see. I hadn't noticed it before, panic ate me and it told me to stop his bleeding, to keep him alive, but now that my adrenaline has settled, I realise that his wings are gone.

Realisation dawns on me and I feel my eyes burn, "You clipped them."

There are two long scars on his back where his wings used to be.

"Seijuurou–"

"It took a long time to convince them, I had to wait for a replacement as good as I was," He says, "Shinatarou was ready to rip my head off when I told him I was going to do it. The wounds have healed from when I clipped them, but without my wings, I have no right to be at the realm, and well, they literally dropped me from the sky."

"You're–"

He faces me, despite the bruises, the cuts, he is still breathtaking to me. Ethereal.

His smile is like magic.

"I'm human."

-o-

Seijuurou's wings are gone. So are mine. We're both flightless, but we are free.

-o-

In the mornings when we wake, we share kisses, and I surrender in the warmth of his arms. We don't speak words, but the message is all the same.

-o-

END.